- Lacteal
Infobox Anatomy
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Caption = Transverse section of avillus , from the humanintestine . X 350.
a.Basement membrane , here somewhat shrunken away from the epithelium.
b.Lacteal .
c.Columnar epithelium .
d. Its striated border.
e.Goblet cells .
f.Leucocytes in epithelium.
f’. Leucocytes below epithelium.
g.Bloodvessels .
h.Muscle cells cut across.
Caption2 = Villi of small intestine, showing bloodvessels and lymphatic vessels.
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DorlandsPre = l_01
DorlandsSuf = 12474659
A lacteal is a lymphatic capillary that absorbs dietary fats in the villi of thesmall intestine .The combination of fat and lymph in the lacteals is milky in appearance and called
chyle . Individual lacteals merge to form larger lymphatic vessels that transport the fats to thethoracic duct which empties into the leftsubclavian vein .At this point, the fats are in the bloodstream in the form of
chylomicrons . Once in the blood, chylomicrons are subject to delipidation by lipoprotein lipase. Eventually, enough lipid has been lost and additional apolipoproteins gained, that the resulting particle (now referred to as a chylomicron remnant) can be taken up by the liver. From the liver, the fat released from chylomicron remnants can be re-exported to the blood as the triglyceride component of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). VLDL, also subject to delipidation by vascular lipoprotein lipase, delivers fats to tissues throughout the body and, in particular, the released fatty acids can be stored inadipose cells astriglycerides . As triglycerides are lost from VLDL the lipoprotein particle becomes smaller and denser (since protein is denser than lipid) and ultimately becomes low density lipoprotein (LDL). A lot has been written about LDL because it is thought to be atherogenic.ee also
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Villus External links
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* - "117. Digestive System: Alimentary Canal jejunum, central lacteals "
* [http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~jbradley/LactealA.html Diagram at ohio-state.edu]
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