The Nikon MicroscopyU confocal microscopy image gallery was created with a PCM-2000 confocal scanning system interfaced to a Nikon Eclipse E600 upright microscope. Images were recorded in successive z-axis serial sections with C-Imaging Systems software with excitation illumination provided by an argon-ion and/or a helium-neon laser.

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View a lower magnification confocal sequence of gall bladder.

Responsible for storing the bile and secreting mucous, the human gallbladder is a pear-shaped muscular sac, lodged under the right lobe of the liver. About four inches in length, the body of the gallbladder consists of mucous plus three layers: the serous, fibrous, and muscular. The cystic duct, the smallest of three biliary ducts, connects the gallbladder body to the liver, forming the bile duct by joining with the hepatic duct.

Bile, a liver secretion responsible for emulsifying ingested fats, is rich in lipids and poor in protein when compared to other human secretions. When the person eats a fatty meal like a hamburger and french fries, the gallbladder is stimulated into action and moves additional bile into the liver. It is postulated that when the body is short of vitamin C, bile combines with an over-saturation of cholesterol (from a high-fat diet) in the gall bladder, forming gallstones in the body of the gallbladder. These cause abdominal pain and if the bile duct becomes clogged with gallstones, the person becomes jaundiced. The clogged gallbladder sometimes becomes infected or very painful (cholecystis) and is surgically removed (cholecystectomy). The patient will not be able to digest food high in fat very well after this surgery and should change to a low-fat diet. Gall bladder disease is more prevalent in women than men.

Humans, omnivores that eat animal flesh, and many domestic animals have gall bladders, while horses and rats do not. During fasting, the gall bladder stores and concentrates the bile up to five times its normal concentration in the liver by absorbing water and electrolytes.