What liquid transports the products of fat digestion in the body?

The correct answer is lymph because it plays a crucial role in transporting the products of fat digestion, particularly the absorbed fatty acids and monoglycerides. After fats are digested in the small intestine, they are emulsified by bile salts and then absorbed by intestinal cells. Inside these cells, fatty acids and monoglycerides are reassembled into triglycerides and packaged into chylomicrons. These chylomicrons are too large to enter the blood capillaries directly. Instead, they are released into the lymphatic system, which then conveys them through lymph vessels into the bloodstream at the thoracic duct.

While blood is responsible for transporting a wide array of nutrients, hormones, and metabolic waste throughout the body, it does not initially carry the products of fat digestion directly from the intestines. Plasma is the liquid component of blood that contains water, salts, and proteins, but any products of fat digestion specifically rely on lymph for initial transport. Serum is the liquid that remains after blood has clotted, and it also does not play a role in the transport of fats after digestion.

Thus, lymph is essential for maintaining the transport of dietary fats from the digestive system to the rest of the body.