The term “gallbladder disease” describes any health problem that affects the gallbladder.
They can lodge in the biliary ducts.
What Does the Gallbladder Do?
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Your gallbladder stores bilea fluid made by the liver that’s necessary for digesting and absorbing fat and vitamins.
The vast majority of people with gallstones in the United States have cholesterol stones.
Pigment gallstonesmay form if there is too much bilirubin.
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Uncommon Causes
There are a number of other less frequent causes of gallbladder disease.
Cholecystitis
Cholecystitis is the inflammation of the gallbladder.
Acute cholecystitisoccurs when a gallstone becomes lodged within the cystic duct, leading to gallbladder inflammation.
An elevated white blood cell count is also usually present.
Acalculous cholecystitiscauses the same symptoms and signs as acute cholecystitis, however, there is no gallstone present.
Instead, experts believe this condition results from gallbladder stasis and ischemia (poor blood flow).
Acalculous cholecystitis typically occurs in people who are severely ill.
Since the sphincter of Oddi does not function properly in this disease, a biliary obstruction may occur.
Intermittent episodes of biliary obstruction cause dull pain in the upper right or upper center part of the abdomen.
Amagnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)orendoscopic ultrasound (EUS)can further detect the cause of biliary dyskinesia.
It’s unclear what causes biliary dyskinesia.
Other experts have suggested that this disorder results from spasm or nerve loss to the sphincter muscle.
People with functional gallbladder disorder have normal blood tests, without evidence of inflammation or liver problems.
They also have a normal ultrasound of the gallbladder with no evidence of gallstones.
This test calculates the ejection fraction of the gallbladder (how much tracer leaves the gallbladder).
However, the vast majority of people with gallstones do not have and will never develop gallbladder cancer.
Gallstones cause symptoms when they block a bile duct, triggeringbiliary colic(a “gallbladder attack”).
Liver disease is characterized by an increase in a substance calledbilirubin.
This is the same yellowish compound that causesjaundicein people withhepatitisandcirrhosis.
Although gallstones are the major cause of bile duct obstruction, the ducts may be blocked without a gallstone.
In fact, four of every five people with gallbladder cancer will have gallstones when diagnosed.
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