Fig. 1: schematic image of intestinal villi (IMAGE)

Institute for Basic Science

Fig. 1: schematic image of intestinal villi

Caption

The image shows fingerlike projections that cover the intestinal wall and absorb nutrients in the small intestine.During digestion, hydrophilic nutrients, such as glucose and amino acids, are absorbed by blood capillaries. On the other hand, hydrophobic nutrients, such as lipids, are taken in by specialized lymphatic capillaries called lacteals. The graphics also shows five types of connective cells (vFB1, vFB2, vFB3, FB4, and FB5), three of which were identified in this study, as well as smooth muscle cells (SMC), mural cells (MC), blood and lymph capillaries (lacteals).

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