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Gallbladder diseases are diseases involving the gallbladder and is closely linked to biliary disease, with the most common cause being gallstones (cholelithiasis). [1] [2]The gallbladder is designed to aid in the digestion of fats by concentrating and storing the bile made in the liver and transferring it through the biliary tract to the digestive system through bile ducts that connect the ...
These bile acids travel to the gall bladder during the interdigestive phase for storage and to the descending part of the duodenum via the common bile duct through the major duodenal papilla during digestion. 95% of the bile acids which are delivered to the duodenum will be recycled by the enterohepatic circulation.
The human gallbladder is a hollow grey-blue organ that sits in a shallow depression below the right lobe of the liver. [2] In adults, the gallbladder measures approximately 7 to 10 centimetres (2.8 to 3.9 inches) in length and 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in diameter when fully distended. [3]
Liver and gall bladder. The liver is the second largest organ (after the skin) and is an accessory digestive gland which plays a role in the body's metabolism. The liver has many functions some of which are important to digestion. The liver can detoxify various metabolites; synthesise proteins and produce biochemicals needed for
Cholestasis can be suspected when there is an elevation of both 5'-nucleotidase and ALP enzymes. [78] With a few exceptions, the optimal test for cholestasis would be elevations of serum bile acid levels. [79] However, this is not normally available in most clinical settings necessitating the use of other biomarkers.
If one or more gallstones block the bile ducts and cause bilirubin to leak into the bloodstream and surrounding tissue, jaundice and itching may also occur. In this case, liver enzyme levels are likely to be raised. [16] Often, gallbladder attacks occur after eating a heavy meal. Attacks are most common in the evening or at night. [17]
Normally, the downstream gallbladder stores and concentrates the bile which originates in liver hepatocyte cells and is released into the microscopic component of the biliary system by the liver. Through aggregating tubules of increasing diameter, the bile leaves the liver and reaches the upstream (proximal) component of the common bile duct.
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.