CHAPTER X 

 ABSORPTION LYMPH AND CHYLE 



Absorption by bloodvessels Absorption by lymphatic and lacteal vessels Physiological 

 anatomy of the lymphatic and lacteal vessels Structure of the lymphatic and lacteal 

 vessels Lymphatic glands Absorption of proteids by the lacteals Absorption of 

 sugar and salts by the lacteals Absorption of water by the lacteals Absorption by the 

 skin Absorption by the respiratory surface Absorption from closed cavities, reservoirs 

 of glands, etc. Absorption of fats and insoluble substances Influence of the condition 

 of the blood and of the vessels on absorption Influence of the nervous system on absorp- 

 tion Osmosis Mechanism of the passage of liquids through membranes Osmotic 

 pressure Lymph and chyle Properties and composition of lymph Corpuscular ele- 

 ments of the lymph Origin and uses of the lymph Properties and composition of chyle 

 Composition of chyle Microscopical characters of the chyle Movements of the lymph 

 and chyle. 



ABSORPTION BY BLOODVESSELS 



THAT solutions pass through the walls of the capillaries and of the 

 small veins and that absorption actually takes place in great part by 

 bloodvessels are facts which hardly demand discussion at the present 

 day. Soluble substances that have disappeared from the alimentary 

 canal have been found repeatedly in the blood coming from this part, 

 even when the lymphatics had been divided and communication existed 

 only through the bloodvessels ; and it has been shown that during ab- 

 sorption, the blood of the portal vein is rich in proteids, sugar and other 

 matters resulting from digestion. 



In the mouth and oesophagus, the sojourn of alimentary matters is 

 so brief and the changes which they undergo are so slight, that no con- 

 siderable absorption takes place. It is evident, however, that the 

 mucous membrane of the mouth is capable of absorbing certain soluble 

 matters, from the effects that are constantly observed when the smoke 

 or the juice of tobacco is retained in the mouth even for a short time. 

 A certain proportion of the constituents of food that are dissolved by the 

 gastric juice and converted into peptones is taken up directly by the 

 bloodvessels of the stomach. It may, indeed, be assumed, as a general 

 law, that alimentary matters are in great part absorbed so soon as their 

 digestive transformations in the alimentary canal have been accomplished. 



In the passage of the food along the intestinal canal, as the diges- 

 tion of the proteids is completed, these matters are absorbed. The 

 greatest part of the food is absorbed by the intestinal mucous mem- 



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