Anatomy of the liver and gall bladder
One of the largest human organs is the liver. Playing a crucial role in digestion, located at the top of the right abdomen under the diaphragm, the liver has a huge variety of useful functions. Reaching almost two kilograms in size, it is covered with peritoneum on all sides. The liver performs its functions in conjunction with the gall bladder.
Gallbladder function and structure
First, consider the structure of the gallbladder. Its shape is pear-shaped. The dimensions of the organ fluctuate and usually its size is compared with a small chicken egg:
- Length - from seven to ten or even fourteen centimeters;
- Width - from two to four to five centimeters;
- Capacity - 30-70ml.
The walls of the gallbladder are thin and can stretch. In particular, severe stretching occurs with pathologies. The wall is only two. The upper one is adjacent to the liver, and the lower one is directed into the peritoneal cavity. They consist of muscle, mucous and connective tissue membranes. The gall bladder includes three sections:
- The bottom - being a free section, stands for the lower edge of the liver.
- The cervix is the narrow opposite end of the gallbladder, continuing into the cystic duct.
- The body is the middle part of the gallbladder.
All these departments are covered on three sides by the peritoneum.
The function of the gallbladder is that it is a reservoir for bile, which is produced by the liver. Bile is formed from bile acids. It:
- glycocholic acid
- glycodeoxycholic,
- glycochenodeoxycholic,
- taurodeoxycholic and other acids.
Collected in the bile ducts of the liver, bile secretion produced in the liver then enters the gallbladder and duodenum (duodenum), which takes part in the digestion process, and the main function of the gallbladder is the reservoir of bile. With his help, during active digestion, the duodenum is supplied with the greatest amount of bile. The duodenum at this time is filled with already partially digested food in the stomach.
Gallbladder Position Shapes
- The gallbladder is located between the lobes of the liver (square and left) on the lower surface of the liver. It is covered with peritoneum on three sides.
- Having its own mesentery, it is mobile, and therefore can, twisting, provoke pathology. Including necrosis.
- With an intrahepatic location, there are cases of dystopia - a doubling of the gallbladder.
Biliary tract
The common hepatic duct is connected to the neck by a cystic duct, whose length is approximately four centimeters. Fractional hepatic ducts merge at the gate of the liver into one hepatic duct. The cystic duct, falling slightly lower, contributes to the formation of a common bile duct, which, being the longest, consists of four sections:
- supraduodenal,
- retro duodenal
- pancreatic,
- interstitial.
With irregular meals with significant intervals between meals, the function of the gallbladder is upset. Thus, bile stagnates in the bladder, provoking the development of inflammation, and subsequently stone formation. Accordingly, there is a thinning of the walls of the gallbladder, which, in turn, is fraught with rupture of the organ with a sufficiently large amount of collected bile. This pathology is accompanied by the ingress of bile into the abdominal cavity. Infected, it can even be fatal.
In order to avoid complications in such a situation, cholecystectomy is prescribed - removal of the gallbladder. After such an operation, the patient will be forced to follow a special diet. Since the function of the gallbladder, as a container of bile, is absent, regular unloading of the bile ducts is necessary. This occurs when eating food. Consequently, bile stagnates less when food is taken by a person more often than usual. So you need to do at least five times a day.