Chyle vs. Chyme

Key Differences

Comparison Chart

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Chyle (Greek word Chylous means juice) is defined as the milky fluid having lymph and emulsified fat globules that are produced in the small intestine during the digestion process.

Chyme is defined as the pulpy mixture of partially digested food and stomach juices.

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Site of Formation

In the small intestine

In the stomach

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Composition

Digested food, stomach juice, and small intestine juice

Partially digested food and stomach juice

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pH

pH 7.5

pH less than 4

Janet White

Sep 01, 2022

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Chyle and Chyme Definitions

Chyle vs. Chyme

Chyle is a milky bodily fluid comprising of lymph and emulsified fats or free fatty acid (FFA). It is synthesized in the small intestine during digestion of fatty food and taken up by lymph vessels, especially known as lacteals. On the other hand, chyme is a semifluid mass of partially digested food and is also known as thymus. Once the food is eaten, it is partly digested and mixed in with the stomach fluid, which includes water, hydrochloric acid, and different enzymes and chyme is formed. The chyle has a pH of 7.5 whereas chime has a pH of less than 4.

What is Chyle?

Chyme, which is formed in the stomach, reaches the small intestine after the digestion in the stomach. The small intestine also secretes some juices and pancreas secretes bile. Food in the intestine stimulates the pancreas to secrete bile. So in the small intestine, chyme mixes with bile and intestinal juices and makes a milky fluid which is called chyle. It is actually formed by the digestion of free fatty acids present in the food. Therefore, chyle is comprised of emulsified fat and oils. It is digested in the small intestine. Carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids are digested completely and absorbed in the small intestine. Chyle in the small intestine consists of fat drops and lymph. After the process, chyle is taken up by the lymph vessels, which is called lacteals and distributed within the body. Blood pressure in the lacteals is low, so it allows large fatty acid molecules to diffuse into them. Whereas in blood vessels, pressure is very high, so fatty acids cannot diffuse into blood vessels, only amino acids and sugars can diffuse into them. Most of the nutrients absorbed in the small intestine from the chyle while remaining chyle enters into the large intestine. On reaching in the intestine, water is absorbed from the chyle within the large intestine. The remaining solid part turned into the feces and reached the rectum for elimination by the anus.

What is Chyme?

Animals eat food for nutritional purpose. When the food goes into the mouth, it mixes with mouth secretion saliva and breaks into small pieces. The tongue mixes all the food and makes a mixture, which is called bolus. Bolus passes into the stomach through the esophagus and mixes with stomach digestive juices. The stomach secretes acids, hydrochloric acid, and digestive enzymes, pepsin, renin, etc to help further digestion of digested foods. The mixture of stomach juices and digestive juices together with the partially digested bolus is called chyme. It is formed almost in 40 minutes to a few hours from the time of eating. It is the result of a mechanical and chemical break down of the bolus. Chyme is a semisolid mass of partially digested food and stomach secretions. It is acidic (pH less than 4) because of mixing with gastric acid. It also contains cells from the mouth and esophagus that detaches from the mechanical action of chewing and swallowing. It enters into the duodenum (small intestine) through the pyloric valve. It forms chyle in the small intestine after mixing with intestinal juices and bile. The small intestine absorbs the essential nutrients and sends the rest into the large intestine.

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