Gallbladder
In vertebrates, the gallbladder is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, although the structure and position of the gallbladder can vary significantly among animal species. It receives and stores bile, produced by the liver, via the common hepatic duct, and releases it 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 haemoglobin breakdown. These may cause significant pain, particularly in the upper-right corner of the abdomen, and are often treated with removal of the gallbladder called a cholecystectomy. (Cholecyst means gallbladder.) Cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder, has a wide range of causes, including result from the impaction of gallstones, infection, and autoimmune disease.
Bladder (noun)
A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.
Bladder (noun)
Specifically, the urinary bladder.
Bladder (noun)
A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.
Bladder (noun)
The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports, such as footballs and rugby balls.
Bladder (noun)
A sealed plastic bag that contains wine and is usually packaged in a cask.
Bladder (noun)
Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.
Bladder (verb)
To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate.
Bladder (verb)
To store or put up in bladders.
“bladdered lard”
Bladder Illustrations
Gallbladder Illustrations
