We studied the effects of goat and cow milk fat on the digestive utilization of this nutrient and on some of the biochemical parameters that are related to the metabolism of lipids, using rats with a resection of 50% of the distal small intestine and control animals (transected). The fat content in all the diets was 10% but the lipid quality was varied: the standard diet was based on olive oil, while the other two diets included fat obtained from lyophilized goat milk and cow milk, respectively. The digestive utilization of the fat was lower in the resected animals than in the transected ones for all three diets studied. In both resected and transected animals, the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of the fat was greater with the standard diet (olive oil) than with diets whose fat content was provided by goat or cow milk. The digestive utilization of the fat was greater in the transected and resected rats receiving a diet of goat's milk (rich in medium-chain triglycerides) than those given a cow-milk-based diet, and more closely approached the values obtained for olive oil. The consumption of goat milk reduced levels of cholesterol while levels of triglycerides, HDL, GOT and GPT remained within the normal ranges, for both transected and resected animals. The advantageous effect of goat milk on the metabolism of lipids with respect to cow milk suggests that the former should be included in the diet in cases of malabsorption syndrome.