Where will you find microvilli?

Where will you find microvilli?

• A. Ducts of sweat glands
• B. Trachea
• C. Small intestine
• D. Skin

Answer: (C)

Microvilli are tiny, fingerlike projections on the apical surface of absorptive cells that greatly increase surface area for nutrient uptake. In the small intestine, the cells lining the intestinal villi have a dense brush border made up of microvilli, which massively expands the available area for absorption and also hosts membrane-bound enzymes that finish digestion at the cell surface. This specialization is what makes the small intestine the primary site for nutrient absorption. Ducts of sweat glands lack this brush border; they are ducts lined by simple epithelia focused on transport. The trachea is lined with ciliated pseudostratified epithelium whose job is mucus movement, not absorption. The skin consists of keratinized stratified epithelium and does not feature microvilli, since its role is protection rather than nutrient absorption.

Microvilli are tiny, fingerlike projections on the apical surface of absorptive cells that greatly increase surface area for nutrient uptake. In the small intestine, the cells lining the intestinal villi have a dense brush border made up of microvilli, which massively expands the available area for absorption and also hosts membrane-bound enzymes that finish digestion at the cell surface. This specialization is what makes the small intestine the primary site for nutrient absorption.

Ducts of sweat glands lack this brush border; they are ducts lined by simple epithelia focused on transport. The trachea is lined with ciliated pseudostratified epithelium whose job is mucus movement, not absorption. The skin consists of keratinized stratified epithelium and does not feature microvilli, since its role is protection rather than nutrient absorption.