Spiral valve

A spiral valve or scroll valve is the corkscrew-shaped lower portion of the intestine of some sharks, Acipenseriformes (sturgeon and paddlefish), rays, skates, bichirs, Lepisosteiformes (gars), and lungfishes. A modification of the ileum, the spiral valve is internally twisted or coiled to increase the surface area of the intestine which increases nutrient absorption.

This article is about the intestinal structure. For other uses, see Spiral valve (disambiguation).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.