Nutrients from the surrounding environment.
The more … surface area you have, the more you can absorb at one time. This is particularly important in areas of the body where absorption is the function--such as the intestines. In various places in the body, cells are lined with microvilli, the small, finger-like projections of the plasma membrane. The cell membrane controls what enters and leaves the cell, allowing the cell to absorb the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function and also protects the cell from most dangerous chemicals. It is vital because the cell needs to be able to control its oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. One of the main roles of a cell membrane is to absorb nutrients from the surrounding environment. In order to do this, the cell membrane must have proteins that detect the presence of molecules that should be taken into the cell. A cell has two ways of maximizing its ability to detect important molecules. A cell membrane protects a cell by controlling what substances go in and out of the cell. It lets good products go inside, but harmful products go out, which is basically prot … ecting the cell. Think about a cell membrane as immigration or border patrol. The main role of microvilli is to increase the area of a membrane through which the cell can absorb nutrients. Nutrients from digested food are absorbed into the cells of the intestines. An epithelial cell in the intestines can have as many as 1,000 microvilli. The cell membrane protects the cell from changes in the chemical  and physical environment surrounding it.It also controls which  types of molecules can pass into and out of … the cell.   It holds the cell together and restricts what goes in and out of  the cell. + 57 others found this useful. The cell membrane allows things to go in and out of the cell...... It is said to be called the  gatekeeper. Plasma membrane---separates the cell from its surrounding enviro … nment.
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what do cell membranes absorb