All cells depend on their external environment for their supply of nutrients. Food in the lumen is not technically inside the body because it has not been absorbed.
Mucosa is the innermost layer and this layer line the interior of the digestive tract and thus is in direct contact with essential nutrients (in food) available in the external environment.
It becomes obligatory, therefore for this mucosal cells to take in all the nutrient essential not only for their own metabolisms but also for that the whole organism.
The mucosal cells are uniquely adapted to perform this primary functions: transporting from the external environment to the internal environment the nutrients essential for all of the cells that comprise the total organism. In some cases, these cells secret a mucus layer that serves to lubricate the passage and protect the cells.
Epithelial cells of mucosa are arranged into folds to increase the surface area. The amount of folding is dependent on the region of the gastrointestinal tract.
Because mucosal cells are in direct contact with churning food and harsh digestive secretions, they live only about two to five days.
Mucosal cells in digestive system
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