The main purpose of the intestinal villi is to facilitate proper absorption of nutrients from the digested food.
Explanation:
The villi are very tiny microscopic and finger-like projections of tissues arising from the plica circulares of the intestinal mucosa or the intestinal inner wall. Similarly the epithelial layer of the intestines also contains microfilamentous structures called microvilli.
Both the villi and the microvilli help to increase the available surface area for absorption of nutrients. Structurally, a villus is made up of a network of vessels like capillaries and lacteals or the lymphatic vessels.
The cells present in the villi transports the nutrients like amino acids, carbohydrates present in the intestinal lumen to the capillaries and fatty acids to the lacteals. These absorbed nutrients once reaching the bloodstream is transported to various parts of the body.
