92 



CHANGES OF THE CHYLE. 



higher in a capillary glass tube, the inside of which has been coated over 

 with bile, than in the one which has not been so prepared. 



The liquid which has been gathered into the lacteals from the intes- 

 tine pursues its course to the veins, and ultimately enters them. The 

 special changes which are impressed on it during this passage will new 

 be explained. 



The constitution of the chyle varies with the physiological conditions 

 Constitution ^ ^ e S 7 stem - After a period of fasting it is colorless, and 

 and changes in presents the general aspect of lymph, hereafter to be de- 

 scribed, but during digestion it is a whitish milky fluid, 

 whence its name. This milkiness depends on the suspension of minute 

 fat or oil globules in it. Their diameter is commonly stated at the 

 "3 ToTo of an inch. Of course, the composition of the chyle varies in dif- 

 ferent animals, and even in the same animal under different diets. 



Composition of Clujlc, 



With so many causes of variation, such a table as the preceding is 

 only valuable as giving a general idea of the nature of the chyle. We 

 learn from it that the predominating solid constituents are fat and albtK 

 men. The percentage amount of the first of these in the sample of hu- 

 man chyle is very low, a fact due to the circumstance that the subject 

 from which it was obtained an executed criminal had eaten but little 

 for some time before his death. In like manner, the chyle of horses 

 which have been kept without food has been observed to exhibit a dim-' 

 inution of its fat to such an extent as to be less than one tenth of the 

 normal amount. It is to be remarked that the saline ingredients of the 

 chyle closely represent those of the blood, both in constitution and 

 amount. 



The composition of the chyle varies at different points on its passage 

 Constitution of to the veins, there being a gradual diminution of the albu- 

 chyie at vari- men an( j an j ncrease O f the fibrin. After the passage through 

 its course. the mesenteric glands it becomes capable of coagulation, 

 and will separate into a serum and a clot. Examined near the villi, it 

 may be regarded as ah albuminous liquid, in which are suspended glob- 

 ules of fat of various sizes, down to the degree of minuteness just speci- 

 fied. The nature of these globules is determined by the action of sul- 

 phuric ether, which readily dissolves them. After passing through the 



