Cisterna chyli
Lymphatic & immuneLymphaticsAbdomen
- What it is
- A thin-walled, spindle-shaped sac on the back wall of the upper abdomen, in front of the first two lumbar vertebrae just to the right of the aorta and behind the right crus of the diaphragm. It is formed by the union of the right and left lumbar trunks with the intestinal trunk, and narrows upward into the thoracic duct.
- Function
- Collects lymph from both legs, the pelvis and the abdominal organs, including the milky, fat-rich chyle from the intestine, and feeds it into the thoracic duct.
- Size
- About 5-7 cm long and 5-6 mm wide (absent or replaced by a plexus in about half of people)
- Clinical note
- Its content is chyle: after a fatty meal the lymph turns white with chylomicrons. Injury during spine or aortic surgery leaks chyle into the abdomen (chylous ascites).