What is the advantage of the small intestine being so long and having villi? | Socratic (2024)

The small intestine is so long and coiled up with numerous villi to efficiently digest the food.

Explanation:

The diameter of small intestine is about 1 inch but the length is about 10 feet.

The large length gives a sufficient time to the body to digest the food and extract maximum nutrition while the numerous finger like projections called villi along with micro-villi increase the surface area for absorption. This absorption area is increased because the food is now in contact with more of the cellular area. It is estimated that there are around 130 billion micro-villi per square inch in the mucosa of the small intestine.

P.S. Mucosa is the inner layer of small intestine that absorbs nutrients from chyme.

For detailed information on small intestine, you can check this link:- https://www.innerbody.com/image_digeov/dige10-new3.html#full-description

What is the advantage of the small intestine being so long and having villi? | Socratic (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Mrs. Angelic Larkin

Last Updated:

Views: 5586

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (67 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Mrs. Angelic Larkin

Birthday: 1992-06-28

Address: Apt. 413 8275 Mueller Overpass, South Magnolia, IA 99527-6023

Phone: +6824704719725

Job: District Real-Estate Facilitator

Hobby: Letterboxing, Vacation, Poi, Homebrewing, Mountain biking, Slacklining, Cabaret

Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.