The Bio//Medical Enthusiast

The placenta that we know of today was named after the ancient Roman cheesecake^1,2. For all those interested in the origins of the word, it comes from the Greek plakóenta, meaning “flat cake”³.

Further reading:

1. Miller M. Baking an Ancient Roman Cheesecake [Internet]. YouTube. 2021 [cited 2025 Sep 7]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giPXpKy2lQ0
2. Cato MP. Recipe for placenta. In: De Agri Cultura [Internet]. Loeb Classical Library; 160AD [cited 2025 Sep 7]. p. 85. Available from: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/thayer/e/roman/texts/cato/de_agricultura/e*.html
3. Dictionary.com. Placenta [Internet]. Dictionary.com, LLC. 2025 [cited 2025 Sep 7]. Available from: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/placenta#word-history-and-origins