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Bile (yellow material) in a liver biopsy stained with hematoxylin-eosin in a condition called cholestasis (setting of bile stasi). Bile (from Latin bilis), or gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine.
Bile is secreted by the liver into small ducts that join to form the common hepatic duct. [4] Between meals, secreted bile is stored in the gallbladder. [5] During a meal, the bile is secreted into the duodenum (part of the small intestine) to rid the body of waste stored in the bile as well as aid in the absorption of dietary fats and oils. [5]
The main functions of the gallbladder are to store and concentrate bile, also called gall, needed for the digestion of fats in food. Produced by the liver, bile flows through small vessels into the larger hepatic ducts and ultimately through the cystic duct (parts of the biliary tree) into the gallbladder, where it is stored. At any one time ...
The liver plays a key role in digestion, as it produces and excretes bile (a yellowish liquid) required for emulsifying fats and help the absorption of vitamin K from the diet. Some of the bile drains directly into the duodenum, and some is stored in the gallbladder.
Bile acts partly as a surfactant which lowers the surface tension between either two liquids or a solid and a liquid and helps to emulsify the fats in the chyme. Food fat is dispersed by the action of bile into smaller units called micelles. The breaking down into micelles creates a much larger surface area for the pancreatic enzyme, lipase to ...
Fats are made of fatty acid molecules, and the length of the fatty acid chain determines the digestion process. Bile and enzymes secreted by the pancreas digest many types of fat.
Bile acid-containing micelles aid lipases to digest lipids and bring them near the intestinal brush border membrane, which results in fat absorption. [ 6 ] Synthesis of bile acids is a major route of cholesterol metabolism in most species other than humans.
Bile is formed of three elements: bile salts, bilirubin and cholesterol. Bilirubin is a waste product of the breakdown of hemoglobin. The cholesterol present is secreted with the feces. The bile salt component is an active non-enzymatic substance that facilitates fat absorption by helping it to form an emulsion with water due to its amphoteric ...