The development of the chicken small intestine: a scanning electron microscopy study.

The surface pattern of the small intestine of the chicken was studied using SEM in stages ranging from 11th day of foetal development to 60 days of post-natal life. The definite villi of the small intestine were preceded by the development of the previllous ridges. The villi were finger like and of unequal length during incubation. After hatching, gradually, the villi were longer, well formed with furrows along their sides. Respectively, the crypts, being present at late incubation, increased with age. Columnar epithelial cells with dense microvilli lined the luminal surface of the intestine with obvious goblet cells openings among them.