What Is A Bile Duct?
Although it may not have the prettiest of names, the bile duct plays an essential role in the working of a healthy body. Here is how this bile ducts help us in our every day digestion.
Bile Duct At Work
Bile is a chemical made in the liver, which aids in the digestion of food. The liver excretes the bile along a hepatic duct which then joins with the cystic duct. From there the bile is transferred into the gallbladder and then on into the intestines. This routing of the bile travels through what is called the common bile duct.
Where Is It?
The top half of the common bile duct is located within the liver. This is the beginning of the tubes that carry the bile through the other organs on its way to the intestines.
What Diseases Afflict The Bile Duct?
Like any other part of the body, the bile duct can be afflicted by certain ailments and diseases. While there are not very many of them, they can be quite serious if not taken care of.
Gallstones
The first of these ailments is called gallstones. A gallstone is a small pebble-like stone made out of deposits in the gallbladder. They can become lodged within the bile duct and cause blockage, inflammation, and severe pain. A person with gallstones can wait for the stone to pass through which will then require no other medical intervention. Many times, though, surgery is required to remove the gallbladder.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
This is a rather uncommon and rare condition that leads to scarring of the bile ducts. It can create an ongoing inflammation of the bile duct which will narrow the duct walls and cause them to scar. It is prevalent in women and young children.
Bile Duct Cancer
This type of cancer can happen in any part of the bile duct as it goes from the liver to the intestines. It is usually divided into three groups. Depending on the location of the cancer, it may have different symptoms.
Intraheptatic bile duct cancer - This type of cancer forms in the small ducts of the liver. It can be treated in much the same way as some liver cancers. This is a rare form of bile duct cancer and only happens in one out of ten cases.
Hilar cancer - This is the most common type of bile duct cancer and usually forms in the area where the duct leaves the liver.
Most of the bile duct cancers are usually a form of cancer called Adenocarcinomas. These are cancers of glandular cells that can develop in several organs of the body. In the bile duct they form from the mucus that lines the wall of the ducts themselves.
| Animals Asia: Scientific Studies Reveal Brutal Truth Of Bear Farming Industry Scientific studies reveal brutal truth of bear farming industry 99% of free drip bears had cholecystitis, 66% had gall bladder polyps 34% had abdominal herniation, 28% had internal absessation, 22% had gallstones Scientific research into bears previously farmed using the "free drip" method of bile extraction was revealed today at an Animals Asia . (more).. |
Business Wire - Uninsured Patients Receive Free Surgeries from Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center May 26, 2011 -- Patients from Family Health Care Centers of Greater LA received free outpatient surgeries to repair hernias, remove cataracts and gallbladders.... |
After near death, Linda Haire now celebrates every single day of life They were consumed by doctors visits, lengthy hospital stays - more than 14 months lying in a hospital bed and almost seven months on life support - several surgeries, and extensive rehab... |
Bear bile maker's plan for share listing in China sparks ire online from celebs, rights groups In this Oct. 2, 2010 file photo released by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, an Asiatic Black Bear cub watches from its cage at a bear bile farm in Hanoi, Vietnam... |
Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association - Milk thistle September 22, 2011 -- [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Milk thistle is a flowering herb that is native to the Mediterranean region. It has been... |
Baseball strong medicine in Akerfelds' fight against cancer But to hear Darrel Akerfelds tell it, spring training is a crucial element to his 14-month and counting battle with one of the deadliest forms of cancer... |
Hospitals slammed on gall bladder deaths HEALTH chiefs have been criticised after an inquiry into the deaths of three patients who had gall bladder surgery at Lanarkshire hospitals... |
Market Wire - Reliv Highlights Health Benefits of Regular Exercise April 19, 2011 -- Reliv International is urging everyone to get up and get moving for National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in May. Since 1983, this... |
South African Journal of Radiology - Iatrogenic injury of an aberrant right posterior sectoral bile duct September 1, 2011 -- Case history A 34-year-old woman presented with a history of a previous laparoscopic cholecystectomy, followed within a few days by a... |
2012 Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka results: Zelenkova wins women's race The inaugural Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka is in the books. Going into the event, Christie Sym was the favorite in the women's race... |
The Industrial Robot Revolution NASA recently launched Curiosity, the newest rover to explore Mars. Curiosity is a supercharged robot that can collect, analyze and transmit data about the experience on the Red Planet using environmental sensors, radiation monitors, chemistry instruments and more... |
Townsend Letter - Monthly miracles: gallbladder rescue July 1, 2011 -- As organs go, the gallbladder isn't the sexiest; however when the gallbladder and liver malfunction, it causes a host of painful and... |
Kaweah Delta nurse finds her home in the operating room If there's one thing Ali Nelson has learned since leaving the Navy last year it's that the military. Lead daVinci nurse Wendy Heatherly prepares the da Vinci surgery machine Wednesday in an operating room at Kaweah Delta Medical Center... |
Celebrating Schneck Hospital touts its robotics surgery Dr. Eric Fish, an early skeptic of robotics surgery who is now perhaps one of its biggest cheerleaders and practitioners, said the Vinci Si robotics surgical system is saving its patients and their employers money and returning them to their jobs much faster than open and laparoscopic surgeries... |
South African Journal of Radiology - Arm pain after syncope June 1, 2011 -- Presentation A chronically ill 49-year-old woman presented to the trauma unit with acute on chronic right arm pain after a syncopal... |
"Rejuvenation Part 2" Our bodies have the innate ability to self-heal when given what they require: loving self-discipline and proper digestion... |
Base's care awry: inquest A CORONER'S court has heard a Griffith woman did not get the care she was "entitled to" at Griffith Base Hospital in the days leading up to her death in 2010... |
Technorati Tags: Gall Bladder Cleanse, Gall Bladder, Bile Duct
