Figure 1
From: Placental accommodations for transport and metabolism during intra-uterine crowding in pigs
Possible allometric relationships between fetal weight and placental weight are illustrated. According to Huxley [22], the relationship between fetal weight and placental weight can be described with the equation fetal weight = constant × placental weightf/p where f and p represent growth rates of the fetus and placenta, respectively. Given this relationship, the slope of the linear relationship between log fetal weight and log placental weight is f/p, the relative growth rates of the two components. The graphs represent (a) untransformed and (b) log transformed hypothetical relationships where growth is fully proportional (i.e., growth rates are equal; solid line), only 70% of changes in placental weight are reflected in changes in fetal weight (a fetal sparing effect where fetal growth is relatively insensitive to differences in placental weight; small dashes), and 130% of changes in placental weight are reflected in changes in fetal weight (fetal growth is highly sensitive to differences in placental weight; large dashes). In pigs, even during late gestation, the slope of the log fetal weight to log placental weight relationship is less than one, indicating fetal sparing [21].