A lacteal is a lymphatic capillary that absorbs dietary fats in the microvilli of the small intestine. The combination of fat and lymph in the lacteals is milky in appearance and called chyle. Individual lacteals merge to form larger lymphatic vessels that transport the fats to the thoracic duct which empties into the left subclavian vein. At this point, the fats are in the bloodstream. They can be converted to lipoproteins (HDL, LDL or VLDL) in the liver or be transported to tissues throughout the body and stored in adipose cells as triglycerides. In mammals including humans, the lymphatic vessels (or lymphatics) are a network of thin tubes that branch, like blood vessels, into tissues throughout the body. ... A microvillus (usually not occurring alone, so usually referred to as the plural microvilli) is a small (0. ... Diagram showing the small intestine In biology the small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract between the stomach and the large intestine (colon). ... Chyle is a milky fluid (bodily fluid) consisting of lymph and emulsified fats. ... In human anatomy, the thoracic duct is an important part of the lymphatic system — it is the largest lymphatic vessel in the body. ... The subclavian vein is a continuation of the axillary vein and runs from the outer border of the first rib to the medial border of anterior scalene muscle. ... A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly that contains both proteins and lipids and may be structural or catalytic in function. ... The liver is the largest internal organ of the human body. ... Adipose tissue is an anatomical term for loose connective tissue composed of energy in the form of fat, although it also cushions and insulates the body. ... Triglyceride (blue: fatty acid; red: glycerol backbone) Triglycerides are glycerides in which the glycerol is esterified with three fatty acids. ...
1059, 1060).—The essential parts of a villus are: the lacteal vessel, the bloodvessels, the epithelium, the basement membrane, and the muscular tissue of the mucosa, all being supported and held together by retiform lymphoid tissue.
The muscular fibers are derived from the muscularis mucosæ, and are arranged in longitudinal bundless around the lacteal vessel, extending from the base to the summit of the villus, and giving off, laterally, individual muscle cells, which are enclosed by the reticulum, and by it are attached to the basement-membrane and to the lacteal.
The lymphatics of the small intestine (lacteals) are arranged in two sets, those of the mucous membrane and those of the muscular coat.
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