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Jejunum and villi: Structural basis of intestinal absorption

  • Chapter
Ultrastructure of the Digestive Tract

Part of the book series: Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine ((EMBM,volume 4))

Abstract

The jejunum is the main portion of the intestine involved in the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the digestive canal. According to an old concept, the food materials were believed to be first broken down into micromolecules, such as amino acids or monosaccharides, by digestive enzymes in the lumen of the digestive canal and then absorbed through the epithelial lining into the blood capillaries or lymphatics. However, since it has been revealed that terminal digestive enzymes such as disaccharidases and dipeptidases are concentrated in the brush border membrane of absorptive cells (1,2), this concept had to be revised.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, 812, Fukuoka, Japan

    Torao Yamamoto

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  1. Torao Yamamoto
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    P. M. Motta M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Department of Anatomy, Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan

    H. Fujita M.D.

  3. Department of Anatomy, University Medical School, Rome, Italy

    S. Correr Ph.D.

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© 1988 Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, Boston

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Yamamoto, T. (1988). Jejunum and villi: Structural basis of intestinal absorption. In: Motta, P.M., Fujita, H., Correr, S. (eds) Ultrastructure of the Digestive Tract. Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2071-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2071-5_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9229-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2071-5

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