How is the small intestine adapted to a digestive function?
The small intestine contains millions of little finger-like protrusions called Villi, with even smaller protrusions on them called Microvilli. These little raised bumps contain capillaries one cell beneath the surface. This means that small molecules like glucose, that can diffuse through the cell membranes, pass into your bloodstream quickly and effectively (the villi and microvilli collectively increase the surface area, and therefore the speed of diffusion by 600x). This means that any nutrients in the chyme (partially digested food) going through the small intestine are able to be absorbed rapidly.
