Abstract
THE inner surface of the small intestine is covered by a “monolayer” consisting of simple epithelium and a smaller number of goblet cells. The epithelial cells differ in the various parts of the small intestine. Their vertical differentiation was suspected1 and confirmed by Dahlquist and Nordstrom2. This differentiation arises from the fact that in the crypts of Lieberkuhn the cells can undergo mitosis, but are incapable of digesting and absorbing nutrients. According to Grobstein's terminology3, this state corresponds to covert differentiation. Towards the apex of the intestinal villi, the cells gradually develop the enzyme pattern necessary for digestion and absorption, but lose their ability to undergo mitosis. This state would, according to Grobstein, correspond to overt differentiation.
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