Q:
How big is Gallbladder? How much bile can Gallbladder hold?
A:
Anatomy and Physiology of Gallbladder
The gallbladder is a small organ, located next to the liver that stores and concentrates bile. It has a storage capacity of 40-70ml., and by absorption of water, salts, and electrolytes through the gallbladder mucosa, the bile becomes between 4-12 times more concentrated than it was in the liver.
Bile is composed of water, bile salts, fatty acids, cholesterol, lecithin, bilirubin, and mucus. The liver makes about one quart daily and whatever isn't sent directly to the duodenum to emulsify fat is diverted to the gallbladder and stored until needed.
When fat from a meal reaches the duodenum; cholecystokinin and secretin are secreted into the circulation. Upon reaching the gallbladder, it causes it to contract. This contraction plus peristalsis in the small intestine causes the sphincter of Oddi to relax and the bile then enters the duodenum. With a fairly fatty meal, the gallbladder can completely empty within one hour.
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> Q:
> How big is Gallbladder? How much bile can Gallbladder hold?
A:
http://www.muschealth.com/ddc/dise/galst.htm
The gallbladder is a small per-shaped organ located beneath the liver on the right side of the abdomen. The gallbladder's primary functions are to store and concentrate bile, and secrete bile into the small intestine at the proper time to help digest food.
The gallbladder is connected to the liver and the small intestine by a series of ducts, or tube-shaped structures, that carry bile. Collectively, the gallbladder and these ducts are called the biliary system.
Bile is a yellow-brown fluid produced by the liver. In addition to water, bile contains cholesterol, lipids (fats), bile salts (natural detergents that break up fat), and bilirubin (the bile pigment that gives bile and stools their color). The liver can produce as much as three cups of bile in a day, the gallbladder can store up to a cup of concentrated bile (different people have different size!).
As food passes from the stomach into the small intestine, the gallbladder contracts and sends its stored bile into the small intestine (duodenum) through the common bile duct and papilla of Vater. Once in the small intestine, bile helps digestive fats in foods. Under normal circumstances, most bile is recirculated in the digestive tract by being absorbed in the intestine and returning to the liver in the bloodstream.
What are gallstones?
Gallstones are pieces of solid material that form in the gallbladder. Gallstones form when substances in the bile, primarily cholesterol and bile pigments, form hard, crystal-like particles.
Cholesterol stones are usually white or yellow in color and account for about 99 percent of gallstones. They are made primarily of cholesterol.
Pigment stones are small, dark or other color stones made of bilirubin and calcium salts that are found in bile. They account for the other 1 - 5 percent of gallstones. Risk factors for pigment stones include cirrhosis, biliary tract infections, and hereditary blood cell disorders, such as sickle cell anemia.
Gallstones vary in size and may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder may develop a single, often large, stone or many smaller ones, even several thousand.
Bile salts are steroids with detergent properties which are used to emulsify lipids in foodstuff passing through the intestine to enable fat digestion and absorption through the intestinal wall. They are secreted from the liver stored in the gall bladder and passed through the bile duct into the intestine when food is passing through.
Biosynthesis represents the major metabolic fate of cholesterol, accounting for more than half of the 800mg/day of cholesterol that the average adult uses up in metabolic processes. By comparison, steroid hormone biosynthesis consumes only about 50 mg of cholesterol per day. Much more that 400 mg of bile salts is required and secreted into the intestine per day, and this is achieved by re-cycling the bile salts.
Most of the bile salts secreted into the upper region of the small intestine are absorbed along with the dietary lipids that they emulsified at the lower end of the small intestine. They are separated from the dietary lipid and returned to the liver for re-use. Re-cycling thus enables 20-30g of bile salts to be secreted into the small intestine each day.
The most abundant of the bile salts in humans are cholate and deoxycholate, and they are normally conjugated with either glycine or taurine to give glycocholate or taurocholate respectively. The conjugation is important in identifying the bile salt for re-cycling back to the liver.
Bile salts are steroids with detergent properties which are used to emulsify lipids in foodstuff passing through the intestine to enable fat digestion and absorption through the intestinal wall. They are secreted from the liver stored in the gall bladder and passed through the bile duct into the intestine when food is passing through.
Biosynthesis represents the major metabolic fate of cholesterol, accounting for more than half of the 800mg/day of cholesterol that the average adult uses up in metabolic processes. By comparison, steroid hormone biosynthesis consumes only about 50 mg of cholesterol per day. Much more that 400 mg of bile salts is required and secreted into the intestine per day, and this is achieved by re-cycling the bile salts.
Most of the bile salts secreted into the upper region of the small intestine are absorbed along with the dietary lipids that they emulsified at the lower end of the small intestine. They are separated from the dietary lipid and returned to the liver for re-use. Re-cycling thus enables 20-30g of bile salts to be secreted into the small intestine each day.
The most abundant of the bile salts in humans are cholate and deoxycholate, and they are normally conjugated with either glycine or taurine to give glycocholate or taurocholate respectively. The conjugation is important in identifying the bile salt for re-cycling back to the liver.
I have a chronic liver disease. One of the symptoms I have been living with is added weigh to my abdomen area. I understand this is because my body is not digesting fats and storing them in this area because of my liver disease. I have read about bile salts helping with th absorption of fats but would like to have more information. Is there anyone with hepatitis who has used bile acid/salts, or is it even safe to do so?
thanks in advance
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