Intestinal villus - wikipedia Intestinal villus Intestinal ville Micrograph of the small intestine mucosa showing villi - top half of image. H&E stain Section of duodenum of cat. X 60. Details Identifiers Latin villi intestinales TA A05. 6.01. 011 FMA 76464 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) Intestinal villi ( singular : villus ) are small, finger - like projections that extend into the lumen of the small intestine. Each villus is approximately 0.5 -- 1.6 mm in length ( in humans ), and has many microvilli projecting from the enterocytes of its epithelium which collectively form the striated or brush border. Each of these microvilli are much smaller than a single villus. The intestinal villi are much smaller than any of the circular folds in the intestine. Villi increase the internal surface area of the intestinal walls making available a greater surface area for absorption. An increased absorptive area is useful because digested nutrients ( including monosaccharide and amino acids ) pass into the semipermeable villi through diffusion, which is effective only at short distances. In other words, increased surface area ( in contact with the fluid in the lumen ) decreases the average distance travelled by nutrient molecules, so effectiveness of diffusion increases. The villi are connected to the blood vessels so the circulating blood then carries these nutrients away. Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Histology 2 Function 3 Additional images 4 References 5 Further reading Structure Histology Vertical section of a villus from the dog 's small intestine. X 80. ( Simple columnar epithelium labeled at right, third from top. ) Enterocytes, along with goblet cells, represent the principal cell types of the epithelium of the villi in the small intestine. Function There, the villi and the microvilli increase intestinal absorptive surface area approximately 30-fold and 600-fold, respectively, providing exceptionally efficient absorption of nutrients in the lumen. There are also enzymes ( enterocyte digestive enzyme ) on the surface for digestion. Villus capillaries collect amino acids and simple sugars taken up by the villi into the blood stream. Villus lacteals ( lymph capillary ) collect absorbed chylomicrons, which are lipoproteins composed of triglycerides, cholesterol and amphipathic proteins, and are taken to the rest of the body through the lymph fluid. Villi are specialised for absorption in the small intestine as they have a thin wall, one cell thick, which enables a shorter diffusion path. They have a large surface area so there will be more efficient absorption of fatty acids and glycerol into the blood stream. They have a rich blood supply to keep a concentration gradient. Additional images Different stages of coeliac disease Structure of a villus ( see reference quoted in text ) Microvilli ( shaggy hair ) show electron dense plaques ( open arrow ) at their apices. References Jump up ^ http://www.copewithcytokines.org/cope.cgi?key=Paneth%20cells Jump up ^ `` Oral Delivery of Macromolecular Drugs - Barriers, - Andreas Bernkop - Schnürch - Springer ''. Jump up ^ `` Digestion : Digestive System, Enzymes, Absorption in the Small Intestine ''. Further reading C.W. Chan, Y.K. Leung and K.W. Chan ( 2014 ). `` Microscopic anatomy of the vasculature of the human intestinal villus - a study with review ''. Eur J Anat, 18 ( 4 ) : 291 - 301. Anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract, excluding the mouth Upper Pharynx Muscles Spaces peripharyngeal retropharyngeal parapharyngeal retrovisceral danger prevertebral Pterygomandibular raphe Pharyngeal raphe Buccopharyngeal fascia Pharyngobasilar fascia Piriform sinus Esophagus Sphincters upper lower glands Stomach Curvatures greater lesser Angular incisure Cardia Body Fundus Pylorus antrum canal sphincter Gastric mucosa Gastric folds Microanatomy Gastric pits Gastric glands Cardiac glands Fundic glands Pyloric glands Foveolar cell Parietal cell Gastric chief cell Enterochromaffin - like cell Lower Small intestine Microanatomy Intestinal villus Intestinal gland Enterocyte Enteroendocrine cell Goblet cell Paneth cell Duodenum Suspensory muscle Major duodenal papilla Minor duodenal papilla Duodenojejunal flexure Brunner 's glands Jejunum No substructures Ileum Ileocecal valve Peyer 's patches Microfold cell Large intestine Cecum Appendix Colon Ascending colon Hepatic flexure Transverse colon Splenic flexure Descending colon Sigmoid colon Continuous taenia coli haustra epiploic appendix Rectum Transverse folds Ampulla Anal canal Anus Anal columns Anal valves Anal sinuses Pectinate line Internal anal sphincter Intersphincteric groove External anal sphincter Wall Serosa / Adventitia Subserosa Muscular layer Submucosa Circular folds Mucosa Muscularis mucosa NDL : 00575812 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Intestinal_villus&oldid=839878847 '' Categories : Digestive system Hidden categories : Pages with unresolved properties Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Čeština Deutsch Eesti فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Simple English Suomi Svenska Türkçe 中文 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 May 2018, at 08 : 47 ( UTC ). 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Question: what purpose do villi serve in the small intestine
Answer: increase the internal surface area of the intestinal walls