Cholelithiasis Essay

Every time we eat the body functions to digest the food we are consuming. One of the organs of the digestive system is the liver which is placed in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen and plays a major role in the intermediary metabolism as it breaks down the fat, it produces bile acids and it is the key organ for detoxification. Liver diseases nowadays seem to be very common; especially in the Western world, it is estimated that 1 in every 10 adults suffers from a condition called cholelithiasis. Cholelithiasis is the disease in which gallstones form within the biliary system, usually in the gallbladder where bile is stored and concentrated. Bile is a yellow-green substance containing bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, proteins and a wide variety of electrolytes. Though from all those substances, just phospholipids and bile salts help to the digestion of fats. (Marieb and Hoehn, 2015) A healthy adult is able to produce in a daily basis an approximate amount of 400-1100ml hepatic bile which is produced in …show more content…
Diabetes, Crohns dease, spinal cord injury). (Emanuel and Inns,2011) All of the above, are major risk factors for the formation of gallstones. Cholelithiasis patients should avoid fatty food meals as they result in high cholesterol intake which can’t be digested as the gallbladder cant stimulate bile into the small intestine. If the patients eat fatty foods the gallbladder will try to release bile and as a result it will cause pain in the abdomen. Large meals should also be avoided as they contribute to fat intake and the food isn’t able to be digest. (Saxelby,