Bile duct
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| Bile duct | |
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| Digestive system diagram showing the bile duct | |
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| An intraoperative cholangiogram, which is an X-Ray of the bile ducts during a laprascopic cholecystectomy | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | d_29/12313926 |
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Overview
A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile.
Bile, required for the digestion of food, is excreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct, which joins with the cystic duct (carrying bile to and from the gallbladder) to form the common bile duct, which opens into the intestine.
The biliary tree (see below) is the whole network of various sized ducts branching through the liver.
The path is as follows: Bile canaliculi → Canals of Hering → interlobular bile ducts → intrahepatic bile ducts → left and right hepatic ducts merge to form → common hepatic duct exits liver and joins → cystic duct (from gall bladder) forming → common bile duct → joins with pancreatic duct → forming ampulla of Vater → enters duodenum
Common bile duct
The top half of the common bile duct is associated with the liver, while the bottom half of the common bile duct is associated with the pancreas, through which it passes on its way to the intestine. It opens in the part of the intestine called the duodenum into a structure called the ampulla of Vater.
Pathology
Blockage of the bile duct by a cancer, gallstones, or scarring from injury prevents the bile from being transported to the intestine and the active ingredient in the bile (bilirubin) instead accumulates in the blood. This condition is called jaundice and the skin and eyes become yellow from the bilirubin in the blood. This condition also causes severe itchiness from the bilirubin deposited in the tissues. In certain types of jaundice, the urine will be noticeably darker, and the stools will be much paler than usual. This is caused by the bilirubin all going to the bloodstream and being filtered into the urine by the kidneys, instead of some being lost in the stools through the ampulla of Vater.
Jaundice is commonly caused by conditions such as pancreatic cancer, which causes blockage of the bile duct passing through the cancerous portion of the pancreas; cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the bile ducts; blockage by a stone in patients with gallstones; and from scarring after injury to the bile duct during gallbladder removal.
Additional images
 Section across portal canal of pig. X 250. |
External links
- The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation
- The Johns Hopkins Gall Bladder & Bile Duct Cancer Web page
- bile+duct at eMedicine Dictionary
- MeSH Bile+Ducts
Anatomy of torso, digestive system: Digestive glands | |
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| Liver | by region: Left lobe (Caudate lobe, Quadrate lobe) • Right lobe • Transverse fissure of liver
by function: Fibrous capsule of Glisson • Hepatocyte • Space of Disse • Space of Mall • Kupffer cell • Liver sinusoid • Ito cell • Hepatic lobule bile ducts: Bile canaliculus • Canals of Hering • Interlobular bile ducts • Intrahepatic bile ducts • Left and Right hepatic ducts • Common hepatic duct |
| Gallbladder | by region: Body • Fundus • Neck ducts: Cystic duct |
| Pancreas | by region: Tail • Body • Head • Uncinate process
by function: Islets of Langerhans • Exocrine pancreas ducts: Pancreatic duct • Accessory pancreatic duct |
| Common | Common bile duct • Hepatopancreatic ampulla • Sphincter of Oddi |
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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
