GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -During the process of digestion, the lacteals absorb large molecules of fats and lipids from the small intestine which gives them a milky-white appearance. They act as a passage to transport the contents in the form of lipoproteins into the lymphatic system.

Detailed explanation-2: -Lacteals are milky lymphatic vessels of small intestine that convey the milky chyle from the intestine through the mesenteric glands to the thoracic duct. They absorb the products of fat digestion.

Detailed explanation-3: -Lipid absorption involves hydrolysis of dietary fat in the lumen of the intestine followed by the uptake of hydrolyzed products by enterocytes. Lipids are re-synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and are either secreted with chylomicrons and high density lipoproteins or stored as cytoplasmic lipid droplets.

Detailed explanation-4: -Dietary lipids are absorbed on the apical side of enterocytes. Once inside the lacteals, CMs are transported via the lymph through mesenteric lymph nodes and collecting lymphatic vessels, ultimately reaching the thoracic duct, which drains into the venous circulation at the level of the left subclavian vein.

Detailed explanation-5: -A lacteal, the blunt‐ended lymphatic capillary at the center of each villus in the small intestine, is a main route for drainage of dietary lipids and lipid‐soluble nutrients in the form of lymph, which returns to the systemic circulation via the thoracic duct 1, 2.