Chyles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of fluid produced during digestion that contains emulsified fats and nutrients from partially digested food
2. It is formed in the lymphatic system and transported through lymphatic vessels
3. This milky fluid plays a crucial role in the absorption of dietary fats and fat-soluble vitamins in the intestines

Etymology: "Chyles" is simply the plural of "chyle," so the history belongs to the singular. The Greek source, "khulós," meant "juice," and it was used for the sap of plants and the juices of animals alike. Latin borrowed it as "chylus," and later Latin writers used the form "chȳlus" for the milky fluid that the body produces during digestion. French then took the term into its medical vocabulary, and English borrowed it from French. The name fits the substance closely. Chyle is the fluid that the small intestine absorbs from digested food, and it is rich in fats that have been broken into tiny droplets, which gives it a milky white appearance. Ancient Greek juice became a precise anatomical label because the fluid looks like a milky liquid squeezed out of food, much as the Greek word suggested.

Synonyms: lymph, digestive fluid