subject: What is the Gallbladder [print this page] What is the Gallbladder What is the Gallbladder
First off what is the gallbladder?
The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ that stores and concentrates bile. The gallbladder is connected to the liver by the hepatic duct. It is approximately 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm) long and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.
What is its Function?
The function of the gallbladder is to store bile and concentrate. Bile is a digestive liquid continually secreted by the liver. The bile emulsifies fats and neutralizes acids in partly digested food. A muscular valve in the common bile duct opens, and the bile flows from the gallbladder into the cystic duct, along the common bile duct, and into the duodenum (part of the small intestine).
Gallbladder symptoms
There are multiple symptoms to indicate something wrong with the gallbladder. These normally last from 1 to 4 hours (sometimes longer) and consist of some of the following: Strong pain in the right lower side of your body just below the rib cage. This can be followed with severe nausea as well as other symptoms just as pain when bending or even walking. There is a difference between gallbladder and gallbladder attack symptoms.
What are the causes of gallbladder attacks?
There are a few reasons why the pain can exist, it can come from a stone making its way through the bile tube toward the duodenum. However, it could also be caused by an excess amount of bile in the gallbladder which causes swelling thus discomfort. An infected gallbladder could also be the culprit which becomes inflamed. This is known as cholecystitis
What has been mentioned above is what is going on but doesn't state why. Let's take a look at the thyroid gland as this can be one of the reasons for thick bile or a poor function gallbladder. The thyroid glad controls the bodies metabolism and if this isn't working correctly it can either speed up or slow down. In this case it would be the latter which is occurring. The knock on affect from this is that the digestion process is a lot slower and thus this could be one of the issues for the gallbladder to be giving you grief as it can't empty as quick.
It is best to get diagnosed straight away by your GP if you think you may have some of the gallbladder symptoms
