How do villi and microvilli aid digestive processes in the small intestine?

1 Answer
Henry W.
Oct 5, 2016

Increase the rate in which digested food is absorbed.

Explanation:

Recall that the role of the small intestine in digestion is the absorption of digested food. Villi and microvilli are tiny projections that stick out in the lining of the small intestine.
http://faculty.ccri.edu/kamontgomery/anatomy%20cell.htm
These projections increase the surface area of the small intestine for the absorption of nutrients, and as a higher surface area = higher rate of transportation processes such as diffusion, they thus increase the rate of absorption.

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