microvillus

[mi″kro-vil´us]

a minute process or protrusion from the free surface of a cell, found especially in the proximal convolution of renal tubules and the intestinal epithelium. See illustration.

Microvilli in the intestinal tract. From Applegate, 1992.

mi·cro·vil·lus

, pl.

mi·cro·vil·li

(mī-krō-vil'ŭs, -vil'ī),

One of the minute projections of cell membranes greatly increasing surface area; microvilli form the striated or brush borders of certain cells.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

mi·cro·vil·lus

, gen. and pl. microvilli (mī'krō-vil'ŭs, -ī)

One of the minute projections of cell membranes greatly increasing surface area; microvilli form the striated or brush borders of certain cells.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

microvillus

a minute finger-like process found in numbers projecting from the cell surface where, in epithelium, they form a brush border. Microvilli are found, for example, on the villi lining the small intestine.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

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References in periodicals archive

The microvilli are marked with arrows; green arrow: double microvilli (see the text); red arrow: a radially cut microvillus, with axial symmetry.

On the role of the blood vessel endothelial microvilli in the blood flow in small capillaries

Note the ciliated non-sensory cells (CN), microvillus (MV), and supporting cells (S) and rod cells (RD).

Anatomical Studies of the Olfactory Epithelium of Two Cave Fishes Sinocyclocheilus jii and S. furcodorsalis (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from China

The relationship is very strong, but the volume fraction occupied by rhabdomeres in the rhabdomeric layer, the numerical density of the microvilli in the rhabdomere, and the diameter of each microvillus show an inconspicuous growth.

Development of the retina in the cuttlefish Sepia esculenta

"Sameerah was suffering from microvillus inclusion disease and was very seriously ill," he said.

GIRL WAS SICK BEFORE SWINE FLU STRUCK

Hospital consultant Dr Gale Pearson said Sameerah had been born with microvillus inclusion disease, which affects one in 10,000, adding: "It can be life threatening."

SWINE FLU GIRL 'HAD SUFFERED' Health woes of victim, 6

The enterocele cells with microvillus and glycoprotein coating are involved in absorbing oral insulin, digesting food with sugar, liquids, secretions, etc.

Inhalation insulin and oral and nasal insulin sprays for diabetics: panacea or evolving future health disaster part 2

A small pore is created in the vitelline layer, through which the sperm nuclear filament is extended to meet and fuse with an egg microvillus. Penetration of the egg by one sperm induces the cortical granule reaction, and a fertilization membrane is raised after a few minutes.

On fertilization in Chaetopleura apiculata and selected Chitonida

A., Schachter, D.: Lipid dynamics and lipid protein interactions in rat enterocyte basolateral and microvillus membrane.

Piperine modulates permeability characteristics of intestine by inducing alterations in membrane dynamics: Influence on brush border membrane fluidity, ultrastructure and enzyme kinetics

Increases in intracellular calcium levels can result in the depolymerization of actin by villin (a calcium-dependent microvillus protein) and a breakdown of the host cytoskeleton not unlike that seen in EPEC-infected cells (24).

Enteropathogenic E. coli, Salmonella, and Shigella: Masters of Host Cell Cytoskeletal Exploitation

Indications for the use of HPN in children are short bowel syndrome (SBS), chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIP), intractable diarrhea, congenital microvillus atrophy, and Crohn's disease (Dahlstrom, Strandvik, Kopple, & Ament, 1985; Ricour, 1989).

Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) in children in Sweden

Each microvillus contains 20 structures called microfilaments, which function much like the poles supporting a tent.

Exposing salmonella's gutsy moves