Comparison of Biliary Drainage and Cholecystography in Gallstone Diagnosis

Inflammation and a Thickened Mucus Layer in Mice with Cholesterol Gallstones

“…Mi-Mundelein, IL) and terminal laparotomy was performed. Gallbladcroscopic crystals showed Maltese crosses characterisders were isolated and bile was aspirated using a 25-gauge needle attached to a 1-ml syringe by silastic tubing (Dow Corning, Midland, tic of cholesterol crystals [16,17]. As expected, gall-MI).…”

Role of Gallbladder Mucus Hypersecretion in the Evolution of Cholesterol Gallstones

“…Supersaturated gallbladder bile, however, does not necessarily result in the formation of cholesterol crystals or gallstones (2,3). Previous studies (7)(8)(9)(10) emphasized the importance of choles-terol monohydrate crystals in bile as a means of distinguishing lithogenic from nonlithogenic biles. Recently, Holan et al (11) demonstrated that supersaturated bile from gallstone patients differs from supersaturated bile from patients without stones in its ability to nucleate micellar cholesterol.…”

In vitro investigation of the origin of echoes within biliary sludge

“…Even though supersaturation of bile with cholesterol is very common in humans during fasting (281, cholesterol crystals usually do not develop except in those with gallstone disease 129). The correlation holds true even in the presence of jaundice (22,23).…”

“…The clinical implications of these observations are more difficult to assess. For many years clinicians have examined bile collected from patients by a tube passed perorally into the duodenum (the Meltzer-Lyon test) (13,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). When gallbladder bile contains cholesterol crystals or calcium bilirubinate granules in moderate to large amounts, there is a strong correlation with the presence of gallstones in the gallbladder or some other abnormality, such as cholesterolosis (19)(20)(21).…”

“…Pigment granules alone or in combination with cholesterol crystals have been noted in patients with hepatitis and hemolytic anemia in the absence of gallstones (19,251. Precipitation of calcium bilirubinate has been identified in patients with jaundice even when the gallbladder has been normal (23). Jaffe (26) concluded that bile stasis alone can result in pigment granule precipitation.…”