lacteal
adjective, noun
Forms lacteals
- adjective Relating to milk.
- adjective (anatomy) Relating to milk production. “lacteal ducts in the breasts”
- adjective Relating to, or containing, chyle. “the lacteal vessels”
- noun (physiology, chiefly in the plural) Each of the lymphatic vessels which convey chyle from the mesentery to the thoracic duct.
- noun (obsolete) One of the lactiferous ducts or other components of milk-producing organs.
Etymology
lacto- + -al
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Pertaining to, or resembling, milk; milky; as, the lacteal fluid.
- adjective Pertaining to, or containing, chyle; as, the lacteal vessels.
- noun One of the lymphatic vessels which convey chyle from the small intestine through the mesenteric glands to the thoracic duct; a chyliferous vessel.
Etymology [L. lacteus milky, fr. lac, lactis, milk. Cf. Galaxy, Lettuce.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lacteal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details