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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. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water , is produced continuously by the liver, and is stored and concentrated in the gallbladder .
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]
Once secreted into the lumen of the intestine, bile salts are modified by gut bacteria. They are partially dehydroxylated. Their glycine and taurine groups are removed to give the secondary bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid. Cholic acid is converted into deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid into lithocholic acid.
The bile duct is separated into three main parts: the fundus (superior), the body (middle), and the neck (inferior). Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct .
The biliary tract, also known as the biliary tree, is the path by which bile is secreted by the liver then transported to the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum. The bile produced in the liver is collected in bile canaliculi, small grooves between the faces of adjacent hepatocytes. The canaliculi radiate to the edge of the liver ...
Finally, the conjugated bile acids which remained un-ionized conjugated bile acids are passively absorbed. Venous blood from the ileum goes straight into the portal vein and then into the liver sinusoids. There, hepatocytes extract bile acids very efficiently, and little escapes the healthy liver into systemic circulation.
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, 30 to 60 millilitres (1.0 to 2.0 US fl oz) of bile is stored within the gallbladder. [15]
Bile is secreted into the duodenum of the small intestine via the common bile duct. It is produced in liver cells and stored in the gall bladder until release during a meal. Bile is formed of three elements: bile salts, bilirubin and cholesterol. Bilirubin is a waste product of the breakdown of hemoglobin.