At term of pregnancy, oxygen consumption by the human or ovine placenta accounts for 40
per cent of total oxygen uptake by the gravid uterus. In the sheep, most oxygen is used for
oxidative phosphorylation of glucose; the remainder is probably utilized for non-
mitochondrial processes. The ATP yield is expended mainly in protein synthesis and cation
transport. The fractional protein synthesis rate of ovine placenta is 60 per cent per day.
Applying these data to man, protein synthesis is estimated to account for about 30 per cent …