Gallbladder

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that is situated on the right side of the abdomen just under the liver. The primary function of gall bladder is to store and concentrate bile, which is a digestive fluid secreted by the liver. The gallbladder functions as a storage organ for the bile that is not used immediately. The lining of the gallbladder absorbs the fluids from the bile and concentrates it. When food from the stomach reaches the small intestine, cholecystokinin hormone is released. The gallbladder contracts in response this hormone and releases bile in the small intestine via the common bile duct. Bile is used to digest and emulsify fats and also the neutralize acids present in the partially digested food. Gallstones form in the gallbladder due to presence of excessive amounts of bilirubin, cholesterol or bile salts. Gallstones rarely produce symptoms until they become big in size or obstruct a bile duct. Gallbladder is removed surgically (cholecystectomy) to treat gallstones.

Gallbladder Surgery

The gallbladder is located near the liver and it is a small pear-shaped organ that stores extra bile. Bile is made of water, cholesterol, biliary salts and biliary acids and is a substance that is required to dissolve fat during digestion. The liver produces about one liter of bile a day and the gallbladder serves as a small storage container for a small fraction of the bile produced daily. This extra bile is released by the gallbladder to aid in digestion during especially fatty meals.

Gallbladder

One of the functions of the gallbladder is to concentrate the bile produced by the liver. Mainly by removing water, the bile is reduced from a fifth to a tenth of its original volume until reaching the maximum capacity of the gallbladder at about 50 milliliters. This concentration is a kind of balancing act. If the gallbladder doesn’t concentrate the bile, then there may not be enough active ingredients to break down a heavy load of fat, resulting in digestive problems. If the gallbladder performs too much concentration, the lack of water may stimulate the formation of gallstones around impurities in the high saturation of cholesterol.