Your liver makes a substance called bile that helps with digestion. Your gallbladder stores it until you need it to digest fat. Then your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine.
Different diseases can block the bile ducts and cause a problem with the flow of bile. Gallstones are one of the most common causes of blocked bile ducts. Blocked bile ducts may also result from infection, cancer or to internal scar tissue. Scarring can block the bile ducts, which can lead to liver failure.
A rare form of bile duct disease called biliary atresia occurs in infants. It is the most common reason for liver transplants in children in the United States.
- Bile Duct Diseases(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10044.html
- What Is Bile Duct Cancer?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_Is_bile_duct_cancer_69.asp?sitearea=
- ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase) Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/alp/test.html
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ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ercp/
- GGT (Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase) Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ggt/test.html
- HIDA Scan (Cholescintigraphy): Why Is It Performed?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hida-scan/AN00424/METHOD=print
- How Is Bile Duct Cancer Diagnosed?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_bile_duct_cancer_diagnosed_69.asp?rnav=cri
- How Is Bile Duct Cancer Staged?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_bile_duct_cancer_staged_69.asp?rnav=cri
- Bile Duct Exploration(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/bile_duct_exploration/hic_bile_duct_exploration.aspx
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Extrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/bileduct/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/viasbiliares/patient/
- Radiation Therapy for Bile Duct Cancer(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4X_Radiation_Therapy_69.asp?rnav=cri
- Surgery for Bile Duct Cancer(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4X_Surgery_69.asp?rnav=cri
- Therapeutic ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) - http://www.asge.org/PatientInfoIndex.aspx?id=398
- Treatment by Stage of Bile Duct Cancer(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4X_Treatment_Options_by_Stage_69.asp?rnav=cri
- Bile Duct Cancer: What Happens After Treatment?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_5X_What_happens_after_treatment_69.asp?rnav=cri
- Bile Reflux(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/bile-reflux/DS00651/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Primary Biliary Cirrhosis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/primarybiliarycirrhosis/index.htm
- Primary Biliary Cirrhosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/primary-biliary-cirrhosis/DS00604/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/primarysclerosingcholangitis/
- Do We Know What Causes Bile Duct Cancer?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Do_we_know_what_causes_bile_duct_cancer_69.asp?sitearea=
- What Are the Risk Factors for Bile Duct Cancer?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_bile_duct_cancer_69.asp?rnav=cri
- What Should You Ask Your Doctor about Bile Duct Cancer?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_5X_What_should_you_ask_your_doctor_about_bile_duct_cancer_69.asp?rnav=cri
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Your Digestive System and How It Works(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/
Also available in Spanish http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/pubs/yrdd/index.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Bile Duct Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Bile+Duct+Diseases%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Liver+Cirrhosis,+Biliary%22
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Genetics Home Reference: Alagille syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=alagillesyndrome
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Caval invasion by liver tumor is limited. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18722944&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Racial disparity in surgical mortality after major hepatectomy. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18722934&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Role of hedgehog signalling in bile ductular cells. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18719134&tool=MedlinePlus
- Bile Duct Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=bile+duct+diseases[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: Find a Doctor(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) - http://www.asge.org/Apps/FindADoctor/search.aspx
- Find an Oncologist(American Society of Clinical Oncology) - http://www.cancer.net/patient/Diagnosis+and+Treatment/Finding+Quality+Care/Find+an+Oncologist/Find+an+Oncologist+Database
- GI Physician Locator(American College of Gastroenterology) - http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/phylocator.asp
- American Gastroenterological Association - http://www.gastro.org/
- American Liver Foundation - http://www.liverfoundation.org/
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National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
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Cancer of the Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct(National Cancer Institute) - http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/livibd.html
- What Are the Key Statistics for Bile Duct Cancer?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_bile_duct_cancer_69.asp?rnav=cri
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Biliary Atresia(National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/atresia/
- Choledochal Cysts(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site714/mainpageS714P0.html
- Gallbladder Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gallbladderdiseases.html
- Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Bile Duct Diseases is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
Bile Duct Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/bileductdiseases.html