brush border

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. a dense array of microvilli projecting from the surface of certain epithelial tissues, as the lining of the intestinal tract.

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brush border British  

noun

1. physiol a layer of tightly packed minute finger-like protuberances on cells that line absorptive surfaces, such as those of the intestine and kidney See also microvillus

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Etymology

Origin of brush border

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush border

After amylases break down starch into smaller fragments, the brush border enzyme α-dextrinase starts working on α- dextrin, breaking off one glucose unit at a time.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Intestinal brush border enzymes and pancreatic enzymes are responsible for the majority of chemical digestion.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

The thick portion is lined with simple cuboidal epithelium without a brush border.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

The intestinal brush border enzyme enteropeptidase stimulates the activation of trypsin from trypsinogen of the pancreas, which in turn changes the pancreatic enzymes procarboxypeptidase and chymotrypsinogen into their active forms, carboxypeptidase and chymotrypsin.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Intestine epithelium cells have a "brush border," a structure that is present only in cells specialized for absorption and that is assumed to have arisen as a result of the activity of certain intestine-cell genes.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 9, 2012