Gallbladder

The gallbladder is a small hollow organ beneath the liver that stores and concentrates bile, releasing it into the small intestine during digestion.

Bile: A digestive fluid made by the liver that helps disperse dietary fats and carries waste products. The gallbladder stores this liver-made fluid and releases it into the intestine.
Liver: A large organ that processes nutrients, detoxifies substances, and produces bile. The liver makes the bile that the gallbladder stores rather than produces.
Cholelithiasis: The presence of gallstones in the gallbladder or biliary tract. Stones can obstruct bile flow and cause pain or inflammation.
Gallbladder agenesis: A rare congenital condition in which the gallbladder is absent. It shows that bile can reach the intestine without a gallbladder reservoir.
Embryology of the gallbladder: The development of the gallbladder and biliary passages from the embryonic foregut. Its developmental origin explains congenital variations in gallbladder anatomy.
Cystic duct: The duct connecting the gallbladder to the common hepatic duct and, through it, the bile duct. Bile travels through this narrow passage into and out of the gallbladder.
Biliary tree: The network of ducts that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. The gallbladder is a storage organ within this larger bile-drainage system.
Acute cholecystitis: Sudden inflammation of the gallbladder, most often caused by obstruction of the cystic duct by a gallstone. This common complication shows what can happen when a stone blocks gallbladder drainage.
Pancreas: A gland that releases digestive enzymes and bicarbonate into the small intestine and produces hormones such as insulin. Unlike the gallbladder, it makes digestive secretions rather than storing bile.
Cystic artery: The artery that usually supplies blood to the gallbladder and cystic duct. Its variable course matters in gallbladder surgery and anatomical study.

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