Includes bibliographical references and index.

Human placenta development, structure, and organization in relation to function and fetal development -- Molecular regulation of human extravillous trophoblast development -- Epigenetics and the placenta : impact of maternal nutrition -- Maternal diet, trophoblast biology, and epigenetic regulation -- Placental amino acid transport in response to maternal nutrition during pregnancy -- Fatty acid uptake and metabolism in the human placenta -- The roles of fatty acids in fetal development -- Role of maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in placental development and function -- Importance of cholesterol and cholesterol transporters in the placental trophoblast during pregnancy -- Maternal fatty acids and their effects on placentation -- Maternal micronutrients, placental growth, and fetal outcome -- Folic acid uptake and its regulation in the placenta -- Vitamin D effects on pregnancy and trophoblast function : limited data yet endless possibilities -- Choline and placental trophoblast development -- Role of calcium in fetal development -- Maternal obesity and placental vascular function -- Placental dysfunction and future maternal cardiovascular disease -- Trophoblast-uterine natural killer cell interactions and their effect on cytokines and angiogenic growth factors -- Effects of hyperglycemia on trophoblast invasion and angiogenesis -- Role of cytokines in healthy and pathological pregnancies -- Effect of prepregnancy body weight and pregnancy outcome -- The aryl hydrocarbon receptor in the human placental trophoblast : the impact of nutraceuticals and natural products -- Impact of environmental pollutants on placentation -- Differential gene expression of the placenta in normal and pathological human pregnancy -- Placental gene expression in pathological pregnancies.