Cholelithiasis

Cholelithiasis is the formation or presence of solid deposits in the gallbladder or biliary tract. Stones may remain silent or obstruct bile flow and cause inflammation.

Cholesterol gallstone: A gallstone composed mainly of cholesterol crystals. These stones are the most common type in many populations and form when bile becomes cholesterol-supersaturated.
Biliary colic: Episodic upper abdominal pain caused by temporary obstruction of the cystic duct or ampulla. A gallstone intermittently blocking bile drainage commonly produces this characteristic pain.
Bilirubin: A yellow pigment produced during the breakdown of heme in red blood cells. Bilirubin is a key ingredient in pigment stones and can accumulate in bile.
Biliary dyskinesia: Gallbladder-related pain and impaired emptying without visible gallstones or structural obstruction. It can resemble symptomatic gallstones despite the absence of stones on imaging.
Pigment gallstone: A gallstone composed mainly of calcium bilirubinate and other calcium salts. These stones arise through a different chemical pathway, often associated with excess bilirubin.
Acute cholecystitis: Sudden inflammation of the gallbladder, usually caused by persistent cystic-duct obstruction. An obstructing gallstone can progress from transient pain to gallbladder inflammation.
Gallbladder sludge: A mixture of particulate material in bile, including cholesterol crystals and calcium bilirubinate. Sludge can precede visible stones or cause similar biliary obstruction.
Acalculous cholecystitis: Gallbladder inflammation occurring without gallstones, often in severely ill patients. It produces gallbladder inflammation without the obstructing stones typical of calculous disease.
Bile: A digestive fluid made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Changes in bile composition can allow cholesterol or pigment crystals to form.
Choledocholithiasis: The presence of one or more stones in the common bile duct. This names the specific complication in which gallstones migrate into the main bile duct.

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