Chylomicron

A small fat globule composed of protein and lipid (fat). Chylomicrons are found in the blood and lymphatic fluid where they serve to transport fat from its port of entry in the intestine to the liver and to adipose (fat) tissue. After a fatty meal, the blood is so full of chylomicrons that it looks milky. The word "chylomicron" is made up of "chylo-", milky + "micron", small. = small milky (globules). The chylomicrons are synthesized (made) in the mucosa (the lining) of the intestine.

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A large lipid droplet (between 0.8 and 5 nm in diameter) of reprocessed lipid synthesized in epithelial cells of the small intestine and containing triacylglycerols, cholesterol esters, and several apolipoproteins ( e.g., A-I, B-48, C-I, C-II, C-III, E); the least dense (less than 1.006 g/mL) of the plasma lipoproteins that functions as a transport vehicle. [chylo- + G. micros, small]

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chy·lo·mi·cron .kī-lō-'mī-.krän n a lipoprotein rich in triglyceride and common in the blood during fat digestion and assimilation

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n.

a microscopic particle of fat present in the blood after digested fat has been absorbed from the small intestine.

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chy·lo·mi·cron (ki″lo-miґkron) [chylo- + Gr. mikros small] a class of lipoproteins that transport exogenous (dietary) cholesterol and triglycerides from the small intestine to tissues after meals. Synthesized in the intestinal mucosa and carried via the intestinal lacteals and lymphatic system to the bloodstream, they are then degraded to chylomicron remnants (q.v.) in the capillaries of muscle and adipose tissue via cleavage of the majority of their triglycerides by endothelial lipoprotein lipase. These remnants are rapidly cleared by the liver via receptor-mediated endocytosis.