<P> The cisterna chyli ( or cysterna chyli , and etymologically more correct , receptaculum chyli ) is a dilated sac at the lower end of the thoracic duct in most mammals into which lymph from the intestinal trunk and two lumbar lymphatic trunks flow . It receives fatty chyle from the intestines and thus acts as a conduit for the lipid products of digestion . It is the most common drainage trunk of most of the body 's lymphatics . The cisterna chyli is a retro - peritoneal structure . In humans , it is located posterior to the abdominal aorta on the anterior aspect of the bodies of the first and second lumbar vertebrae ( L1 and L2 ) . There it forms the beginning of the primary lymph vessel , the thoracic duct , which transports lymph and chyle from the abdomen via the aortic opening of the diaphragm up to the junction of left subclavian vein and internal jugular veins . In dogs , it is located to the left and often ventral to the aorta ; in cats it is left and dorsal ; in guinea pigs it runs to the left and drains into the left innominate vein . </P>
<P> The cisterna chyli ( or cysterna chyli , and etymologically more correct , receptaculum chyli ) is a dilated sac at the lower end of the thoracic duct in most mammals into which lymph from the intestinal trunk and two lumbar lymphatic trunks flow . It receives fatty chyle from the intestines and thus acts as a conduit for the lipid products of digestion . It is the most common drainage trunk of most of the body 's lymphatics . The cisterna chyli is a retro - peritoneal structure . In humans , it is located posterior to the abdominal aorta on the anterior aspect of the bodies of the first and second lumbar vertebrae ( L1 and L2 ) . There it forms the beginning of the primary lymph vessel , the thoracic duct , which transports lymph and chyle from the abdomen via the aortic opening of the diaphragm up to the junction of left subclavian vein and internal jugular veins . In dogs , it is located to the left and often ventral to the aorta ; in cats it is left and dorsal ; in guinea pigs it runs to the left and drains into the left innominate vein . </P>
where does the cisterna chyli collects lymph from
where does the cisterna chyli collects lymph from
intestinal trunk
intestinal trunk