Igura K, Zhang X, Takahashi K, et al. Isolation and characterization of mesenchymal progenitor cells from chorionic villi of human placenta. Cytotherapy 2004;6:543-53.
These folds are lined with tiny hair-like villi and even tinier microvilli, which create a truly impressive surface area — large enough that, if it were unfolded, it would cover a tennis court.
By analyzing the villi that provide contact with the mother's blood to the fetal membrane, Muneta deduced that the fetus must be living in an environment of elevated ketones from the start of pregnancy.
He actually has, I think it's like in the second volume of his classic book on the histology of the nervous system, one of the last figures talks about like the innervation of the villi in the intestines.