Human Gallbladder

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.

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