What is idiopathic chylothorax?
Chylothorax is a disease where fatty fluid accumulates within the chest cavity. This fatty fluid, which is called chyle, is the fluid which drains from the abdominal lymphatic channels. From these channels, chyle drains into a structure called the cisterna chyli within the abdomen. The cisterna chyli is a reservoir that then funnels chyle into the thoracic duct, which traverses the thoracic cavity along the aorta and empties into the venous circulation near the heart. Chylothorax is considered to be idiopathic when there is no obvious cause such as trauma, surgery, cancer or other notable disease of the chest, circulatory system or thoracic organs.
