AbstractChicken (Gallus gallus) perineal, subcutaneous (leg), perinephric and pericardial adipose tissue and heart muscle triglycerides were subjected to stereospecific analysis. All were found to be asymmetric with a preponderance of saturated fatty acids in position 1 and a preponderance of unsaturated fatty acids in position 2. Position 1, for example, contained 48–55% saturated acids while position 2 contained 17–22% and position 3, 33–41%. Stereospecific analysis of fractions of the perineal triglycerides separated by argentation chromatography indicated that the proportions of the individual molecular species could be calculated assuming that there was 1‐random, 2‐random, 3‐random arrangement of fatty acids in the tr