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Microvilli

The microvilli are tiny, hairlike structures on the surface of epithelial cells involved in absorption and secretion. The effect they have is to increase the surface area of the cell by a massive amount (in humans, by about 600-fold) and facilitate absorption and secretion. Microvilli are about 0.08µm in diameter.

Microvilli are found in other places as well. They play a critical part in sensory cells: the inner ear, the taste buds, and the olfactory receptor cells. This is because they are so tiny and numerous they can attach to remarkably small amounts of substances (in taste and smell functions). In the ear, hearing loss due to loud noise is actually caused by the destruction of the microvilli through sonic energy.

The primary component of microvilli is actin filaments, which are also found in microtubules. These filaments are cross-linked by fimbrin and villin; villin is found only in microvilli.

Web Resources On Microvilli

Epithelia Study guide
Cytoplasmic Organelles: Microvilli

Book Resources On Microvilli

Organelles, Genomes and Eukaryote Phylogeny: An Evolutionary Synthesis in the Age of Genomics by Robert P. Hirt
The Biogenesis of Cellular Organelles by Chris Mullins

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