The umbilical cord connects the fetus to the mother in utero. Composed of connective tissue and blood vessels, the cord is cut immediately after birth, leaving the umbilical stump. Normally, the cord area is colonized with potential bacterial pathogens during or soon after birth. These bacteria attract polymorphonuclear leukocytes to the umbilical cord. Although the precise mechanisms of umbilical cord separation are unknown, granulocyte influx and phagocytosis, as well as desiccation, tissue infarction and necrosis, and the activity of collagenase and other proteases, all contribute to the process.