Figure 2. Dimensions of the absorbing enterocytes.

Figure 2A defines the dimensions used to construct Table 1.The apical parts of epithelial cells are considered as cylinders of radius r_S and depth h and the middle and basal parts of the cells as inverted truncated cones with radii r_S and r_b, extending from the basal aspect of the tight junction at x_a to basement membrane at x_b. Figure 2B is a low-power electron micrograph of hamster jejunal cells fixed rapidly during the absorption of glucose; the asterisks indicate the widened lateral intercellular spaces. (Reproduced with permission from Madara & Pappenheimer, 1987).