Objective 57: Justify the role of lacteals in transporting products of digestion

Lacteals are highly specialized lymphatic capillaries that are located in the crypts of the villi of the intestinal mucosa. But since they are located in the villi, how do they transport products of digestion? I referred to both the lymphatic and digestive chapters for my answer (page 657 and 767) and it helped me understand these important capillaries. The lacteals play a huge role in absorbing digestive fats (chyle) from the intestine and then leads it to the thoracic duct, which ultimately sends it to the left subclavian vein. Being able to review the diagram from chapter 22 page 768 gave me a better insight on the structure of the lacteal and how it plays a role in absorbing chyle. I also reviewed the histology of the lacteal, and with both these diagrams and the information from the book I was really able to have a light bulb click on for me.