CHYLE

lymph laden with fat that has been absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine. The fat globules, which give chyle a milky appearance, have a thin protein coating and are a micron or less in size (there are about 25,000 microns to an inch). After a meal it takes two to three hours for fat to be absorbed from the small intestine, travel through ever larger lymph channels until it reaches the thoracic duct (one of the two main lymphatic trunks), and enter the bloodstream by way of an opening from the duct into the left brachiocephalic vein. (This vein collects blood from the left arm, the neck, and the head.)