Do you think the relationship of the mother with her fetus is a parasitic relationship?
View the original post on Musing.io
WHY THE FETUS IS NOT A PARASITE TO THE MOTHER
For more than nine months, the human fetus develops in the uterus of the mother and getting its nourishment.
The comparison is clear
1. A parasite is defined as an organism of one species that lives in another organism and deriving nourishment from the host.
While a human fetus lives in the uterine cavity of the mother and also getting its nourishment. Which is a dependent relationship and not parasitic
2. Parasites which comes from an outside source attacks the host.
While human fetus is formed by means of the sperm fertilizing an egg being formed in the ovary of the mother. Where it later forms the zygote.
3. Parasites are harmful to an extent in the body of the host.
While the fetus in the uterine cavity does not usually cause any harmful effect as long as proper nourishment are been provided by the mother.
4. The tissues of the host are in close contact with the parasite. They cleave with their hooks or suckers to the tissues (more especially connective tissues, intestinal lining etc).
While the fetus in the uterine cavity have close contact with the mother only for a Lin period of time. And later isolate itself in its amniotic sac and then brings about an indirect contact with the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord.
5. Sometimes, the host's tissue forms a capsule of connective tissues that surrounds and cut the parasite off once they attack.
While in the case of the fetus, the lining tissue only surrounds the fetus but does not cut it off when the fetus enters the uterine lining.
6. Antibodies are formed when parasites attacks a host.
While in the case of the fetus, no humoral antibodies are produced against the fetus. The first precursor cells of the erythrocyte (trophoblast) prevents the action of these antibodies and the fetus is not rejected as a result of fetus-mother relationship.
Therefore, the relationship between the fetus and the mother is not PARASITIC.