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Ency. home > Disease > C > Choledocholithiasis

Choledocholithiasis    See images

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Gallstone in the bile duct; Bile duct stone; Bile calculus; Biliary calculus

Definition:

A stone consisting of bile pigments and calcium and cholesterol salts that is formed in the biliary tract (the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and from the gallbladder to the small intestine).

Causes and Risks

About 15% of people with gallstones will develop the stones in the common bile duct, a small tube that carries bile from the gallbladder to the intestine. Symptoms are usually not present unless obstruction of the common bile duct occurs. Even after the gallbladder is removed, a stone may remain in the common bile duct causing episodic pain or jaundice.

Complete, persistent obstruction of the common bile duct can cause cholangitis, a serious infection of the biliary tree. An obstruction of the common bile duct can also lead to an obstruction of the pancreatic duct because these ducts are connected in most people. Such an obstruction can cause pancreatitis.

Risk factors include a previous medical history of cholelithiasis (gallstones). The incidence is 6 out of 100,000 people.

Ency. home > Disease > C > Choledocholithiasis

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