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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 produced by the liver is made up of water (97%), bile salts, mucus and pigments, 1% fats and inorganic salts. [25] Bilirubin is its major pigment. 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.
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.
The function of the common bile duct is to allow bile to travel from the gallbladder to the small intestine, mixing with pancreatic digestive enzymes along the way. [4] One possible complication of choledocholithiasis is an infection of the bile ducts between the liver and the gallstone lodged in the common bile duct.
The digestive enzymes break down proteins, and bile emulsifies fats into micelles. The duodenum contains Brunner's glands which produce a mucus-rich alkaline secretion containing bicarbonate . These secretions, in combination with bicarbonate from the pancreas, neutralize the stomach acids contained in the chyme.
The stomach plays a major role in digestion, both in a mechanical sense by mixing and crushing the food, and also in an enzymatic sense, by digesting it. The following are enzymes produced by the stomach and their respective function: Pepsin is the main gastric enzyme.
Chyme has a low pH that is countered by the production of bile, which helps the further digestion of food. Chyme is part liquid and part solid: a thick semifluid mass of partially digested food and digestive secretions that is formed in the stomach and small intestine during digestion. Chyme also contains cells from the mouth and esophagus that ...
Bile acids comprise about 80% of the organic compounds in bile (others are phospholipids and cholesterol). [5] An increased secretion of bile acids produces an increase in bile flow. Bile acids facilitate digestion of dietary fats and oils. They serve as micelle-forming surfactants, which encapsulate nutrients, facilitating their absorption. [6]