From large fat globules to absorbable droplets
Dietary fat arrives in the small intestine as large droplets that are hard to digest in a watery environment. Bile salts from the liver and gallbladder emulsify these droplets, breaking them into much smaller ones and vastly increasing the surface area available to enzymes. Pancreatic lipase, aided by colipase, then cleaves triglycerides into free fatty acids and monoglycerides.
These products combine with bile salts into tiny mixed micelles, which ferry the fat across the watery layer to the surface of the enterocytes, the absorptive cells lining the intestine.
Repackaging into chylomicrons
Inside the enterocyte, the absorbed fatty acids and monoglycerides are reassembled into triglycerides and packaged with proteins and other lipids into chylomicrons. Because they are too large for blood capillaries, chylomicrons enter the lymphatic system first and only later join the bloodstream, which is one reason dietary fat appears in circulation more slowly than sugar. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K ride along this same pathway.
This is general educational information about normal digestion, not medical advice. Conditions affecting bile or pancreatic enzymes can impair fat absorption and should be assessed by a qualified clinician.