Epithelial cells

Cards (5)

what are epithelial cells in the small intestine specialised to do?
Absorb food efficiently
what do the walls of the small intestine have?
lots of projections called villi
what do villi do? 
increase surface area for absorption
what do the epithelial cells on the surface of the villi have?
folds in their cell-surface membranes called microvilli - these increase surface area even more
what do epithelial cells on the surface of the villi also have?
lots of mitochondria
to provide energy for the transport of digested food molecules into the cell