Gallbladder Diseases
Educational information. Individual clinical review of this presentation by Dr. Ehsan is not yet documented. It does not replace personal medical evaluation.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Read the original source
MedlinePlus data edition September 26, 2026. Imported September 27, 2026. These dates do not indicate a new clinical review of the article.
Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.
Your gallbladder is most likely to give you trouble if something blocks the flow of bile through the bile ducts. That is usually a gallstone. Gallstones form when substances in bile harden. Rarely, you can also get cancer in your gallbladder.
Many gallbladder problems get better with removal of the gallbladder. Fortunately, you can live without a gallbladder. Bile has other ways of reaching your small intestine.
Symptoms, tests and care options
Further reading selected by MedlinePlus. Links open the original organizations’ websites.
- Abdominal Ultrasound · Radiological Society of North America
- Cholecystectomy · Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) · National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Hepatobiliary Nuclear Medicine · Radiological Society of North America
- Recovering After Emergency Gallbladder Surgery · Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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