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Basics

• Summary
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile. Your gallbladder stores it between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine. The bile helps break down fat. It also helps the liver get rid of toxins and wastes.

Different diseases can block the bile ducts and cause a problem with the flow of bile:

• Gallstones, which can increase pressure in the gallbladder and cause a gallbladder attack. The pain usually lasts from one to several hours.
• Cancer
• Infections
• Birth defects, such as biliary atresia. It is the most common reason for liver transplants in children in the United States.
• Inflammation, which can cause scarring. Over time, this can lead to liver failure.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Diagnosis and Tests

• Alkaline Phosphatase (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Bilirubin Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• HIDA Scan (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Biliary obstruction - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Understanding ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography) (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Biliary Tract Disorders, Gallbladder Disorders, and Gallstone Pancreatitis (American College of Gastroenterology) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Bile Reflux (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Cholestasis (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Primary Biliary Cirrhosis) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) (American Liver Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)

Genetics

• Alagille syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bile Duct Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cholangitis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cholestasis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Diseases of bile duct in children.
• Article: Association between reduced muscle mass and poor prognosis of biliary sepsis.
• Article: Post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries: a retrospective cohort study.
• Bile Duct Diseases -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Gallbladder and Biliary Tract (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Your Digestive System and How It Works (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Liver Foundation
• ASGE: Find a Doctor (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy)
• Choosing a Cancer Doctor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Find a Gastroenterologist (American College of Gastroenterology)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• Biliary Atresia (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Biliary Atresia (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Patient Handouts

• ALP - blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bile duct obstruction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bile duct stricture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Biliary atresia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cholangitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cholestasis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• ERCP (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Primary biliary cirrhosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish