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Digestive system
Digestive system
Kidney cyst with gallstones, CT scan
Kidney cyst with gallstones, CT scan
Choledocholithiasis
Choledocholithiasis
Gallbladder
Gallbladder
Gallbladder
Gallbladder
Bile pathway
Bile pathway
OverviewSymptomsTreatmentPrevention

Choledocholithiasis

Definition:
Choledocholithiasis is the presence of a gallstone in the common bile duct. The stone may consist of bile pigments and/or calcium and cholesterol salts that are formed in the biliary tract.

Alternative Names:
Gallstone in the bile duct; Bile duct stone; Bile calculus; Biliary calculus

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

About 15% of people with gallstones will develop stones in the common bile duct, the 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, which is a medical emergency. An obstruction of the common bile duct can also lead to an obstruction of the pancreatic duct, which may cause pancreatitis.

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



Review Date: 12/29/2002
Reviewed By: Hebe Molmenti, M.D., Ph.D., Private Practice specializing in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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