Hello dear,

Digestion of food mainly occurs in the small intestine due to the presence of villi, microvilli and plicae circulares.

The inner mucosal wall of the ‘small intestine’ is covered with wrinkles and folds called ‘plicae circulares’ that project into the lumen of the bowel. These folds are also known as ‘valves of Kerckring’ or the ‘valvulae conniventes’.

These plicae have small ‘finger-like projections’ called villi, which have further smaller projections known as “microvilli”. These structures increase the surface area for absorption and transport nutrients to a ‘network of blood vessels’.

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All the best

Hello,

The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract between the stomach and the large intestine where much of the digestion of food takes place. The primary function of the small intestine is the absorption of nutrients and minerals found in food. Digested nutrients pass into the blood vessels in the wall of the intestine through a process of diffusion. The inner wall, or mucosa, of the small intestine is lined with simple columnar epithelial tissue.