Gallstones

The gallbladder is a small sac that acts as a reservoir for a liquid called bile, which is produced by the liver. This greenish-brown liquid (also known as gall) is passed from the gall bladder into the small intestine through the bile ducts to aid the digestion of food, and particularly of fats.

Gallstones (choleliths) are hard pieces of calcium or cholesterol salts that form in the gallbladder or nearby bile ducts, and can range in size enormously: from as fine as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. Approximately 1 in 10 people in the UK have gallstones, with the condition affecting more twice as many women as men.

Although the majority of people who have cholelithiasis (stones within the gallbladder) do not experience any symptoms, the stones may block the bile duct, resulting in inflammation of the gall bladder (cholecystitis), and causing an intense pain in the upper abdomen.

In this section, you can find out about the causes and symptoms of gallstones, along with information on their methods of diagnosis and treatments.