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Choose your answers from a-d by clicking the radio button next to each choice and then press 'Submit' to get your score.

Regarding oxygen carriage by fetal blood:

a) Blood returning to the fetus via the umbilical vein is fully saturated with oxygen.

b) Fetal hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than adult hemoglobin.

c) Fetal blood has a lower hemoglobin content than adult blood.

d) Blood perfusing the brain of a fetus has the same PaO₂ as that of blood in the descending aorta.

Regarding the fetal circulation:

a) The fetal heart rate is nearly double that of a healthy adult.

b) All the blood in the umbilical vein enters the right atrium.

c) The three fetal shunts normally close immediately after birth.

d) Fetal blood pressure is similar to that of an adult.

Regarding respiration in the fetus and newborn:

a) The peripheral chemoreceptors are active in the fetus.

b) As in the adult, all of the output of the right ventricle passes through the lungs in the newborn.

c) Lack of surfactant in the neonate has little effect on respiration.

d) The first breath is achieved by large changes in the intrathoracic pressure.

Regarding the function of the fetal adrenal glands and kidneys:

a) Fetal androgens stimulate the production of pulmonary surfactant by alveolar type I cells.

b) The fetal zone of the adrenal gland synthesizes large quantities of progesterone.

c) The kidneys play an important role in the regulation of acid-base balance of the fetus.

d) The fetal kidneys begin to produce a hypertonic urine after about 8 weeks gestation.

Regarding the sexual development of the fetus:

a) The sex of an individual is determined by a single gene on the Y chromosome.

b) In the absence of a Y chromosome the sexual development of a fetus will follow the male pattern.

c) The development of the fetal gonads into the female type depends on the presence of estrogens.

d) The sex of an individual is determined by a set of genes on the X chromosome.

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 22.