METHODS FOR STUDY OF FAT ABSORPTION 



131 



found that the microscopic droplets, originally referred to in 1846 by Gul- 

 liver 619 as the "molecular base of chyle" and later by Munk and Rosenstein 620 

 as "fat dust," are a measure of fat absorption. They proposed the term 

 chylomicron (pi. chylomicrons or chylomicron) from the Greek, x^Xos, meaning 

 chyle, and mxph indicating small. The chylomicrons are thus designated 

 as originating from the chyle; they have an average size of about one micron. 



Fig. 13. A chylomicron curve obtained from a fasting individual before feeding 

 and at hourly intervals up to 10 hours after the feeding of a fat meal. Two sample 

 microscopic fields are included. The numbers along the curve show the chylo- 

 micron population present at the different hours. 617 



A comparative diagrammatic representation of the chylomicron population 

 in the blood of fasted individuals and of one who had been fed a generous 

 fat meal three or four hours previously is shown in Figure 12. 



For the test on absorption, Gage and Fish 617 recommend that the subject 

 be fasted for fifteen to twenty-four hours. This will reduce the chylo- 

 micron count for the net-micrometer field to approximately 0. A blood 



819 G. Gulliver, in introduction and notes of article by: W. Hewson, "On the Blood," 

 Philos. Trans., 60, 368-383, 384-397, 398-413 (1770-1771); 63, 303-323 (1773). W. 

 Hewson, Works, Sydenham Soc, 1846; cited by S. H. Gage and P. A. Fish, Am. J. 

 Anal., 34, 1-85 (1924), p. 13. 



620 1. Munk and A. Rosenstein, Arch. path. Anat. Physiol. {Virchow's), 123, 230-279, 

 484-518(1891). 



