Ventral part

In dogs, the chyle cistern has a bipartite aspect:

• The ventral part of the chyle cistern lies on the ventral surface of the aorta, concealed in part by the caudal vena cava, and extends from the level of origin of the cranial mesenteric artery to just caudal to the caudal pole of the left kidney. The ventral part of the cistern is frequently plexiform and commonly receives paired visceral lymph trunks (truncus visceralis) from the abdominal viscera, and lumbar lymph trunks (trunci lumbales) that are the cranial continuations of the lymph vessels from the pelvis and pelvic limbs via efferent lymph vessels from

• The dorsal part of the chyle cistern is saccular and lies dorsal to the aorta from the level of the origin of the celiac artery to approximately the level of the left renal hilus. Cranially it continues through the aortic hiatus of the diaphragm as the thoracic duct.