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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.
Chenodeoxycholic acid is made by many species, and is the prototypic functional bile acid. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] An alternative (acidic) pathway of bile acid synthesis is initiated by mitochondrial sterol 27-hydroxylase ( CYP27A1 ), expressed in liver, and also in macrophages and other tissues.
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 biliary tree (see below) is the whole network of various sized ducts branching through the liver.. The path is as follows: bile canaliculi → canals of Hering → interlobular bile ducts → intrahepatic bile ducts → left and right hepatic ducts merge to form → common hepatic duct exits liver and joins → cystic duct (from gall bladder) forming → common bile duct → joins with ...
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.
The bile duct [1] [4] (formerly known as the common bile duct [4]) is a part of the biliary tract. [4] It is formed by the union of the common hepatic duct and cystic duct. It ends by uniting with the pancreatic duct to form the hepatopancreatic ampulla. It possesses its sphincter to enable the regulation of bile flow.
Enterohepatic circulation of drugs. Enterohepatic circulation is the circulation of biliary acids, bilirubin, drugs or other substances from the liver to the bile, followed by entry into the small intestine, absorption by the enterocyte and transport back to the liver.
The bile is then released via the common bile duct into the duodenum, where the bile helps in the digestion of fats. The gallbladder can be affected by gallstones , formed by material that cannot be dissolved – usually cholesterol or bilirubin , a product of hemoglobin breakdown.