130 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION 



tendency, therefore, of the fats to enter the lacteal is physically 

 natural. It is a curious fact that the peptones and sugars, 

 having penetrated the lining epithelium of the villus, enter the 

 blood instead of the lymph capillaries. 



A number of circumstances, such as the rate of absorption, 

 the persistent direction of the current toward the blood in the 

 face of superior pressure, the disappearance of non-osmotic 

 substances from the canal, etc., are frequently at variance with 

 laboratory experiments. Application of the laws of osmosis to 

 the vital processes is seemingly subject to many variations, and 

 explanation of many of the phenomena of absorption in the 

 body waits upon a clearer understanding of the so-called "vital 

 activity" of the tissues. 



