Wharton's jelly
Wharton's jelly（substantia gelatinea funiculi umbilicalis）is a gelatinous substance within the Umbilical cord, also present in Vitreous humor of the eyeball, largely made up of mucopolysaccharides（Hyaluronic acid and Chondroitin sulfate）.
It also contains some fibroblasts and macrophages.
It is derived from extra-embryonic mesoderm.
As a mucous tissue it protects and insulates umbilical blood vessels.
Wharton's jelly, when exposed to temperature changes, collapses structures within the umbilical cord and thus provides a physiological clamping of the cord an average of 5 minutes after birth.
Cells in Wharton's jelly express several stem cell genes, including telomerase. They can be extracted, cultured, and induced to differentiate into mature cell types such as neurons.
Wharton's jelly is a potential source of adult stem cells.
Wharton's jelly is named for the English physician and anatomist Thomas Wharton (1614–1673) who first described it in his publication Adenographia, or "The Description of the Glands of the Entire Body", first published in 1656.
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