CHAPTEE XYII. 



LYMPH AND CHYLE. 



Mode of obtaining lymph Quantity of lymph Properties and composition of 

 lymph Alterations of the lymph Influence of starvation upon the lymph 

 Corpuscular elements of the lymph Leucocytes Development of leucocytes 

 in the lymph and chyle Globulins Origin and function of the lymph- 

 Chyle General properties of the chyle Composition of the chyle Compar- 

 ative analyses of the lymph and the chyle Microscopical characters of the 

 chyle Movement of the lymph and the chyle Pressure of fluids in the 

 lymphatic system General rapidity of the lymphatic circulation Causes of 

 the movement of the lymph and chyle Influence of the forces of endosmosis 

 and transudation Influence of the contractile walls of the vessels Influ- 

 ence of pressure from surrounding parts Influence of the movements of 

 respiration. 



To complete the history of physiological absorption, it 

 will be necessary to study carefully the origin, composi- 

 tion, and properties of the lymph and chyle. It is only 

 within a few years that physiologists have been able to ap- 

 preciate the importance of the lymph, for the experiments 

 indicating the enormous quantity of this liquid which is con- 

 tinually passing into the blood are of recent date. The 

 earlier experimenters never succeeded in obtaining more than 

 a small quantity of fluid from the lymphatic system. On 

 the other hand, for the long period during which it was sup- 

 posed that all the products of digestion entered the system by 

 the thoracic duct, the importance of the chyle was much exag- 

 gerated ; but the researches upon intestinal absorption by 

 Magendie and those who followed him, and the experiments 

 of Colin on the quantity of fluid which passes into the blood 

 by the thoracic duct during the intervals of digestion, have 



