536 ABSOBPTION. 



Composition of Chyle and Lymph before reaching the Tho- 

 racic Duct. 



Chyle. Lymph. 



Water ............................................ 902-37 965-36 



Albuminous matter ................................. 35-16 12-00 



Fibrinous matter ........ 9 ..... , .................... 3-70 1-20 



Animal extractive matter soluble in water and alcohol. . . 3'32 2*40 



Animal extractive matter soluble in water only . . . ....... 12-33 13-19 



Fatty matter ...................................... 36'01 a trace 



j Alkaline chloride, sulphate and carbonate, with j ^ ,, g.gg 



, ) 



traces of alkaline phosphate, oxide of iron, 



1,000-00 1,000-00 



The above analysis shows a very marked difference in the 

 proportion of solid constituents in these two fluids. The 

 chyle contains about the same proportion of albumen and 

 fibrin as the lymph, and a much larger proportion of salts. 

 The proportion of fatty matters in the chyle is very great, 

 while in the lymph there exists only a trace. 1 



The individual constituents of the chyle given in the 

 above tables do not demand any further consideration than 

 they have already received under the head of lymph. The 

 albuminoid matters are in part derived from the food, and in 

 part from the blood, through the admixture of the chyle 

 with lymph. The fatty matters are derived in greatest part 

 from the food. As far as has been ascertained by analyses of 

 the chyle for salts, this fluid has been found to contain essen- 

 tially the same inorganic constituents as the plasma of the 

 blood. All of these principles are rapidly poured into the 

 blood, where they assist in supplying the material which is 

 being constantly consumed in the process of nutrition. 



1 The proportion of fat given in this analysis of the chyle is even greater than 

 the proportion given by Nasse in an analysis of the chyle of the cat, which ia 

 very commonly quoted as a specimen of chyle extraordinarily rich in fatty mat- 

 ters. The probable explanation of the large proportion of fat found by Kees is 

 that the fluid was taken from the lacteals, and was not mixed with lymph in the 

 thoracic duct. The proportion of fat in the analysis made by Nasse was 32-7 

 parts per 1,000. (NASSE, Chylus WAGNER'S Handworterluch der Physiologie, 

 Braunschweig, 1842, Bd. i., S. 235.) 



