The fetal pig does not have functional lungs, since the lungs are not being used is there any need to transport blood tot he lungs before the fetus is born
Do the lungs need to develop? Wouldn't blood be needed for this process?
In order to answer this question, we need to understand the normal circulation of blood in a fetal pig. The fetal circulation is a bit different from the circulation in an adult pig.
During fetal development, the fetal pig receives oxygen from the mother through the placenta. The placenta is an organ that attaches to the lining of the mother's uterus and allows for the exchange of nutrients, oxygen, and waste products between the mother and the fetus.
In the fetal pig, there is a specialized structure called the ductus arteriosus, which is a blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta. Normally, in adult pigs, the pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, where oxygen exchange occurs, and then the oxygenated blood is returned to the heart through the pulmonary veins. However, in the fetal pig, since the lungs are not fully functional and not receiving blood, the ductus arteriosus allows most of the blood to bypass the lungs and enter the systemic circulation directly through the aorta. This allows the oxygenated blood from the mother to reach the fetal tissues without going through the lungs.
To summarize, in a fetal pig, blood does not need to be transported to the lungs before birth because the lungs are not being used for respiration. Instead, most of the blood is shunted away from the lungs through the ductus arteriosus and directly circulated to the fetal tissues.
It's important to note that this fetal circulation pattern changes after birth. When the piglet is born and starts to breathe on its own, the lungs become functional, and the circulation shifts to the typical adult pattern. The ductus arteriosus closes, and blood flows through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation.