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The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct to aid in digestion. The small intestine is about 5.5 metres (18 feet) long and folds ...
From the inner cavity of the gut (the lumen) outwards, ... The normal thickness of the small intestinal wall is 3–5 mm, [6] and 1–5 mm in the large intestine. [7]
This facilitates transport of numerous small molecules into the enterocyte from the intestinal lumen. These include broken down proteins, fats, and sugars, as well as water, electrolytes, vitamins, and bile salts. Enterocytes also have an endocrine role, secreting hormones such as leptin.
The barrier formed by the intestinal epithelium separates the external environment (the contents of the intestinal lumen) from the body [15] and is the most extensive and important mucosal surface of body. [18] The intestinal epithelium serves several crucial functions, exhibiting both innate and adaptive immune features.
Cross section of the gut. The lumen is the space in the middle also known as the volume. Normal histology of the breast, with lumen annotated at bottom right [1] In biology, a lumen (pl.: lumina) is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine. [2] It comes from Latin lumen 'an opening'. It can refer to:
Intestinal villi (sg.: 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.
In human anatomy, the intestine (bowel or gut; Greek: éntera) is the segment of the gastrointestinal tract extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and as in other mammals, consists of two segments: the small intestine and the large intestine. In humans, the small intestine is further subdivided into the duodenum ...
The circular folds slow the passage of the partly digested food along the intestines, and afford an increased surface for absorption. [5] They are covered with small finger-like projections called villi (singular, villus). Each villus, in turn, is covered with microvilli. The microvilli absorb fats and nutrients from the chyme.