Villi: Increasing the Surface Area
- The ileum is adapted for absorption
- It is very long
- It has a highly folded surface
- It has millions of villi (singular villus)
- Finger like projections on the internal intestinal walls
- The epithelium of each villus is covered in microvilli
- Foldings of the cell surface membrane of the epithelial cells
- All of these features significantly increase the surface area of the ileum, allowing absorption to take place faster
A villus is covered in microvilli which provide a huge surface area to maximise absorption in the small intestine