Rugae
In anatomy, rugae (sg.: ruga) are a series of ridges produced by folding of the wall of an organ.
Most commonly rugae refers to the gastric rugae of the internal surface of the stomach.
| Rugae | |
|---|---|
 Diagram of the stomach Rugae can be seen within stomach. | |
| Anatomical terminology |
Function
A purpose of the gastric rugae is to allow for expansion of the stomach after the consumption of foods and liquids. This expansion increases the volume of the stomach to hold larger amounts of food. The folds also result in greater surface area, allowing the stomach to absorb nutrients more quickly.
Location
Rugae can appear in the following locations in humans:
- Wrinkles of the labia and scrotum
- Hard palate immediately behind the upper anterior teeth
- Inside the urinary bladder
- Vagina
- Gallbladder
- Inside the stomach
- Inside the rectum
Difference between rugae and plicae
With few exceptions (e.g. the scrotum), rugae are only evident when an organ or tissue is deflated or relaxed. For example, rugae are evident within the stomach when it is deflated. However, when the stomach distends, the rugae unfold to allow for the increase in volume. On the other hand, plicae remain folded regardless of distension as is evident within the plicae of the small intestine walls.
References
This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article Rugae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.