The gall bladder is a hollow organ. It is part of the digestive system. The gallbladder is responsible for increasing the concentration and accumulation of bile, its function also includes maintaining and regulating bile pressure in the ducts at a constant level. In the process of organ contraction (usually after eating fatty foods), bile passes through the common and cystic ducts into the duodenum. There she is involved in the digestive process.
Anatomy of the gallbladder.
The organ is located on the lower part of the right hepatic lobe, usually has a pear-shaped (in rare cases, conical) shape. The gallbladder has a length of five to fourteen centimeters, a width of two and a half to four centimeters. The capacity, size and shape of the organ can undergo significant changes against the background of pathological processes.
The gallbladder artery, extending from the liver’s own artery, is responsible for the blood supply to the gallbladder. Its two branches (arteries) are located on the posterior and anterior wall of the organ. Venous outflow is carried out along the veins of the same name that flow into the branches of the portal vein inside the liver. Lymphatic drainage occurs in the lymph nodes of the liver, which are located near the gallbladder in the region of its neck.
Diseases affecting the gallbladder, symptoms and causes are diverse. The main pathologies of the body include metabolic, functional, parasitic and inflammatory diseases.
Among functional diseases, dyskinesia should be highlighted. This pathology is characterized by a disorder of motor and evacuation functions that the gall bladder performs.
Symptoms of the disease are manifested by soreness in the right hypochondrium stitching, aching or cramping in nature, giving to the shoulder, right shoulder blade, back.
The treatment of dyskinesia and other functional pathologies of the gallbladder should be mainly aimed at eliminating the causes that provoked them. As a rule, this is limited to conservative therapy.
Among metabolic diseases of the gallbladder , gallstone disease and cholesterosis should be distinguished. The second pathology is more characteristic for obese women aged thirty-five to sixty-five years with obvious impairments in fat metabolism and high blood cholesterol levels. The process of deposition of cholesterol is often accompanied by a congestive gall bladder, the symptoms of which are manifested by constant pains of a aching, dull character in the right hypochondrium. The intensification of pain is noted with fast walking, shaking riding, torso leaning forward, as well as wearing heaviness in the right hand. If there are no calculi in the gallbladder, then diagnosis can be significantly difficult.
Inflammatory processes are often detected. Their acute or chronic course is provoked by various pathogenic microflora (streptococcus, E. coli, staphylococcus and others). They penetrate into the gallbladder from the gastrointestinal tract through the cystic and common ducts (ascending infection) or via the biliary intrahepatic passages (descending infection).
Parasitic diseases (caused by parasites) can also affect the gallbladder. Symptoms, as a rule, are manifested in the form of disorders in the intestines, pain in the hypochondrium on the right, in some cases chills, fever, itchy skin, weight loss.
Among the tumors in the gallbladder, malignant and benign are distinguished. The latter (papillomas, fibroids, adenomas) are asymptomatic or clinical manifestations that are characteristic of chronic cholecystitis are noted. Diagnosis of tumor processes is carried out using ultrasound, cholecystography.