Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.
Your gallbladder is most likely to give you trouble if something blocks the flow of bile through the bile ducts. That is usually a gallstone. Gallstone attacks usually happen after you eat. Signs of a gallstone attack may include nausea, vomiting, or pain in the abdomen, back, or just under the right arm.
Many gallbladder problems get better with removal of the gallbladder. Fortunately, the gallbladder is an organ that you can live without. Bile has other ways of reaching your small intestine.
- Gallbladder Disorders(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec10/ch140/ch140a.html
-
Abdominal Ultrasound(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=abdominus&bhcp=1
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=abdominus
-
ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ercp/
- HIDA Scan (Cholescintigraphy): Why Is It Performed?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hida-scan/AN00424/METHOD=print
-
Understanding EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasonography)(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) - http://www.asge.org/PatientInfoIndex.aspx?id=380
Also available in Spanish http://www.asge.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=3036
-
Cholecystectomy - Open and Laparoscopic
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/cholecystectomyopenandlaparoscopic/htm/index.htm
- Cholecystectomy: Surgical Removal of the Gallbladder(American College of Surgeons) - Links to PDF - http://www.facs.org/public_info/operation/brochures/cholecystectomy.pdf
-
Gallbladder Removal: Laparoscopic Method(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/114.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/114.printerview.html
- Therapeutic ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) - http://www.asge.org/PatientInfoIndex.aspx?id=398
- Biliary Colic(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10048.html
- Cholecystitis(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/9709.html
- Gallbladder Polyps(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/gallbladder-polyps/AN01044/METHOD=print
-
JAMA Patient Page: Acute Cholecystitis(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/289/1/124.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/289/1/124/DC1/1
- Chronic Diarrhea: A Concern After Gallbladder Removal?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/gallbladder-removal/AN00067/METHOD=print
- Cholecystectomy - Open and Laparoscopic(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/cholecystectomyopenandlaparoscopic/htm/index.htm
-
Digestive System: The Inside Story(Johns Hopkins Medicine) - Requires media player - http://hopkins-gi.nts.jhu.edu/images/shared/home/database/digestiveSystem.html
- Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy(OR-Live) - Requires Flash Player - one hour program - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM-Flash/bse_1884/rnh.cfm?id=609
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Cholecystectomy(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Cholecystectomy%22
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Gallbladder Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Gallbladder+Diseases%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Role of ultrasound screening for gallbladder disease in pretransplant patients. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18807672&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: UGT1A1 promoter polymorphisms and the development of hyperbilirubinemia and gallbladder... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18756540&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: postoperative imaging. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18716112&tool=MedlinePlus
- Gallbladder Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=gallbladder+diseases[majr]+NOT+(cholelithiasis[mh]+OR+gallbladder+neoplasms[mh])+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Gastroenterological Association - http://www.gastro.org/
-
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/
-
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
- Cholecystitis Acalculous - (Gallbladder Inflammation without Gallstones)(American Pediatric Surgical Association) - http://www.eapsa.org/parents/resources/cholecystitis.cfm
- Bile Duct Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bileductdiseases.html
- Gallbladder Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gallbladdercancer.html
- Gallstones - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gallstones.html
- Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Gallbladder Diseases is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
Gallbladder Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/gallbladderdiseases.html