chylomicron

noun

chy·​lo·​mi·​cron ˌkī-lō-ˈmī-ˌkrän 

: a lipoprotein rich in triglyceride and common in the blood during fat digestion and assimilation

Word History

Etymology

chyle + -o- + -micron, in part from micron, in part borrowed from Greek mikrón, neuter of mikrós "small" — more at micro-

Note: The term was introduced by the American histologist and embryologist Simon Henry Gage (1851-1944) and the American veterinarian Pierre Augustine Fish (1865-1931) in "The presence of micro-particles in the blood and other body fluids," Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 58, no. 4 (January, 1921), p. 400: "The term micron has for a long time been used as a unit of measurement for microscopic objects. It represents one-thousandth of a millimeter. Despite its use for this purpose, it has, in recent years, also come into use to designate minute particles in colloid chemistry and in connection with the dark-field and ultra-microscope. Because it has been more or less generally adopted, and its use seems to be extending, the term chylo-microns has been introduced by Gage to designate the particles found in the blood and chyle, since the particles are of the same nature in both fluids, and the name fittingly indicates their origin."

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

chylomicron

noun

chy·​lo·​mi·​cron ˌkī-lō-ˈmī-ˌkrän 

: a lipoprotein rich in triglyceride and common in the blood during fat digestion and assimilation