Gallstone

In medicine, gallstones are crystalline bodies formed within the body by accretion or concretion of normal or abnormal bile components.

Related Topics:
Medicine - Bile

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Cholesterol stones are usually white or yellow in color and account for

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about 80 percent of gallstones. They are made primarily of cholesterol.

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Pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin and calcium salts that are found in bile. They account for the other 20 percent of

Related Topics:
Bilirubin - Calcium salt

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gallstones. Risk factors for pigment stones include cirrhosis, biliary

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tract infections, and hereditary blood cell disorders, such as sickle

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cell anemia.

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Stones of mixed origin also occur.

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Gallstones can occur anywhere within the biliary tree, including the gallbladder and the common bile duct. Obstruction of the common bile duct is choledocholithiasis; obstruction of the biliary tree can cause jaundice; obstruction of the outlet of the pancreatic exocrine system can cause pancreatitis. Cholelithiasis is the presence of stones in the gallbladder - chole- means "gall bladder", lithia meaning "stone", and -sis means "process".

Related Topics:
Biliary tree - Gallbladder - Bile duct - Choledocholithiasis - Jaundice - Pancreatitis - Stone

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Gallstones vary in size and may be as small as a grain of sand or as

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large as a golf ball. The gallbladder may develop a single, often large,

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stone or many smaller ones, even several thousand.

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