Chyle

Chyle (Greek, chulos, juice), the fluid which finds its way into the lacteals from the alimentary canal during the process of digestion. The terminal lacteals take origin in the villi (q.v.) of the small intestine, and transmit their contents through conduits of gradually increasing size, until the whole lacteal system becomes united in the single thoracic duct (q.v.). This main trunk finally opens into the large veins of the neck. Thus the chyle absorbed from the alimentary tract is ultimately discharged into and mingles with the blood. Chyle is a milky fluid containing about 9 per cent. of solid matter (proteids, fats, extractives, and mineral salts). It differs from the lymph of the lymphatic vessels in containing more fatty and proteid substances than the latter. The fatty matter is in an extremely finely divided state, and is called the molecular basis of the chyle. It is derived from the fatty constituents of the food, but some uncertainty exists as to the process by which the particles of fat are absorbed from the alimentary canal and conveyed into the lacteals. Chyle is coagulable, and contains cells called chyle corpuscles.