The fleshy tube containing two arteries and a vein through which the mother supplies the FETUS with oxygen and nutrients. The cord, which is up to 60 cm long, ceases to function after birth and is clamped and cut about 2·5 cm from the infant's abdominal wall. The stump shrivels and falls off within two weeks, leaving a scar which forms the UMBILICUS. (See also PREGNANCY AND LABOUR.)