Gallbladder function is measured in terms of percentage of ejection and fraction. If the percentage of this contraction is less than 35% then the gall bladder is said to have impaired function. More than 35% contraction is considered as normal. However high levels of above 90% are seen to be bad.
The gallbladder is a hollow system that sits just beneath the liver. In adults, the gallbladder measures approximately 8 centimetres, 3.1 inches in length and 4 centimetres, 1.6 inches in diameter when fully distended. It is divided into three sections: Fundus, body and neck. The neck tapers and connects to the biliary tree via the cystic duct, which then joins the common hepatic duct to become the common bile duct. At the neck of the gallbladder is a mucosal fold called Hartmann's pouch, where gallbladder stones commonly get stuck. The angle of the gallbladder is located between the costal margin and the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
The adult human gallbladder stores about 50 millilitres of bile, which is released into the duodenum when food containing fat enters the digestive tract, stimulating the secretion of cholecystokinin (CCK). The bile, produced in the liver, emulsifies fats in partly digested food. During storage in the gallbladder, bile becomes more concentrated which increases its potency and intensifies its effect on fats.
In 2009, it was demonstrated that the gallbladder removed from a patient expressed several pancreatic hormones including insulin. This was surprising because until then, it was thought that insulin was only produced in pancreatic _-cells. This study provides evidence that _-like cells do occur outside the human pancreas. The authors suggest that since the gallbladder and pancreas are adjacent to each other during embryonic development, there exists tremendous potential in derivation of endocrine pancreatic progenitor cells from human gallbladders that are available after cholecystectomy.
The gallbladder is a hollow system that sits just beneath the liver. In adults, the gallbladder measures approximately 8 centimetres, 3.1 inches in length and 4 centimetres, 1.6 inches in diameter when fully distended. It is divided into three sections: Fundus, body and neck. The neck tapers and connects to the biliary tree via the cystic duct, which then joins the common hepatic duct to become the common bile duct. At the neck of the gallbladder is a mucosal fold called Hartmann's pouch, where gallbladder stones commonly get stuck. The angle of the gallbladder is located between the costal margin and the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
The adult human gallbladder stores about 50 millilitres of bile, which is released into the duodenum when food containing fat enters the digestive tract, stimulating the secretion of cholecystokinin (CCK). The bile, produced in the liver, emulsifies fats in partly digested food. During storage in the gallbladder, bile becomes more concentrated which increases its potency and intensifies its effect on fats.
In 2009, it was demonstrated that the gallbladder removed from a patient expressed several pancreatic hormones including insulin. This was surprising because until then, it was thought that insulin was only produced in pancreatic _-cells. This study provides evidence that _-like cells do occur outside the human pancreas. The authors suggest that since the gallbladder and pancreas are adjacent to each other during embryonic development, there exists tremendous potential in derivation of endocrine pancreatic progenitor cells from human gallbladders that are available after cholecystectomy.
