Gallstones involvements
- By:groshan fabiola
When liquid stored in the gall bladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material the discussion is about the gallstones. The bile is used to help the body digest fats. The same bile which is made in the liver is stored in the gallbladder until the body needs to digest fat. The gallbladder contracts and pushes the bile into a tube-the common bile duct-that carries it to the small intestine, where it helps with digestion.
Bile is made of water, cholesterol, fats, bile salts, proteins and bilirubin. The bilirubin gives bile a yellowish color and the bile salts break up fat. there are two types of gallstones: cholesterol stones and pigment stones. Cholesterol stones are yellow-green and they are made of hardened cholesterol. They are in an account of 80 per cent of gallstones. Pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin. Gallstones may look like of grain of sand or as large as a golf ball.
Any combination of gallstones may develop for example one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones. The biliary system shows the following range: the gallbladder and the ducts that carry bile and other digestive enzymes from the liver, gallbladder, pancreas to the small intestine. The normal flow of bile in any of the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine can be blocked by some gallstones. The hepatic ducts, the cystic duct and the common bile duct involves the bile which trapped in these ducts and can cause inflammation in the gallbladder.
Other ducts open into the common bile including the pancreating duct which carries digestive enzyme out of the pancreas. The opening of a duct may be blocked by a present gallstone which can cause an extremly painful inflammation called gallstone pancreatitis. If one of these ducts remain blocks infections affecting the gallbladder liver or pancreas can occur. There are some serious problems considered as warning size: fever, jaundice and persistent pain. The cholesterol stones form when bile contains too much cholesterol, too much bilirubin or not enough bile salts, or when the gallbladder does not empty as it should for some other reason.
The cause of pigment stones is undefined. They develop in people who have cirrhosis, biliary tract infections and hereditary blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, in which too much bilirubin is formed. The gallstones have been indentified as cholesterol stones. It is believed that obesity is a mojor risk factor for gallstones, especially in women. obesity tents to reduce the amount of bile salts in bile resulting in more cholesterol. Obesity may also decrease the empty of the gallbladder. The cholesterol level in bile may appear in cases of excess estrogen from pregnancy, hormone replacement therapy, or birth control pills.
The presence of estrogen decreases gallbladder movement which can lead to gallstones. The Americans have a genetic predisposition to secrete high levels to cholesterol in bile. A mojority of Native American men have gallstones by age 60. Amoung the Indians of Arizona, 70 per cent of women have gallstones by age 30. Women and Mexican American men of all ages have high rates of gallstones. Women between 20 and 60 years are predisposed to develop gallstones as men. The elder people are more likely to develop gallstones than younger people. The risk of gallstones can increase because drugs that lower cholesterol levels in blood and at the sometime increase the amount of cholesterol secreted in bile.
High levels of fatty acids called triglycerides are present in people with diabetes. In a case of a rapid weight loss the liver secrete extra cholesterol into bile, which can cause gallstones. The bile can become over concentrate with cholesterol, which can lead to gallstones due to the fasting decreases gallbladder movement. The symptoms of gallstones are often named gallstone "attack" because they appear suddenly. A typical attack can cause: steady pain in the upper abdomen, pain in the back between the shoulder blades, pain under the right shoulder, nausea or vomiting. Gallstone attacks often occur after fatty meals and they may appear during the night. Other gallstones symptoms are: abdominal bloating, recccuring intolerance of fatty foods, colic, belching, gas and indigestion.
Patients who have the above and any of the following symptoms should consult a doctor right away: chills, low-grade fever, yellowish color of the skin or whites of the eyes, clay-colored stools. Unfortunately there are asymptomatic patients with no symptoms and their stones are called "silent stones". They do not interract with gallbladder, liver or pancreas function and do not need treatment.
There are many causes of gallstones but doctors discovered many currying ways.About the author:
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