True to my word this time, today we’ll be looking at conclusions from the villi simulation. Villi are tissue in the small intestine that aid in the absorption of nutrients. The cells act like doors, which allow smaller food molecules to pass through. The simulation was meant to steer students towards a few specific points:

1. Villi height and percent of food molecules absorbed are directly related. This means that overall, as villi height increases so does absorption.
2. This is because increasing the height of the villi increases the number of doors, or cells, that are lining the small intestine. A higher number of cells means more molecules can enter the bloodstream.

We take another look at the endoscopy images from several weeks ago and realize that M’Kenna’s small intestine is missing its villi. We discuss how this condition must be new, and how we’ve finally identified what’s causing the symptoms. What we don’t yet know, and what we’ll start discussing tomorrow, is what’s causing the villi to disappear.