Abstract
IN his comprehensive and excellent review of Sir Joseph Barcroft's "Researches on Pre-Natal Life" which appeared in Nature, 159, p. 383, Dr. F. H. A. Marshall makes the following statement : "With regard to the matter of permeability the author finds that, contrary to the views of Flexner, the greater the number of layers in the fœtal barrier, the more perfect is the fœtus at birth, . . .". On page 5 of his book, Sir Joseph states that my colleagues and I were interested in placental permeability rather than placental 'efficiency'. I should like to point out that we have made no statements about a possible correlation between placental structure and the maturity of the fœtus at birth, and there is consequently no conflict with Sir Joseph's views on this matter.
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FLEXNER, L. "Pre-Natal Physiology". Nature 162, 1004 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/1621004c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1621004c0
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