Cause
The most common form of inflammation of the gallbladder (lat. : cholecystitis) occurs as a result of gallstone disease (=chollithiasis). Other causes are rare and are usually found in patients after major operations or accidents or with the most serious diseases such as tumors, hepatitis or poisoning.
In order to save space, a large part of the water contained in the bile in the gallbladder is removed, which results in an enormous thickening of the fluid. Due to the enormous withdrawal of water, gallstones can form if the composition of the fluid is changed due to the precipitation of the components. Since the cholesterol content is usually out of balance, cholesterol stones are usually formed.
However, these do not always cause discomfort and the stones can be discovered as a random finding during an ultrasound examination. They only become painful when they block the bile duct and a biliary colic develops. The body then tries to transport the stone in the duodenum by undulating muscular movements towards the exit, similar to kidney colic.
The backlog of secretions in the gallbladder can cause it to become inflamed by the very concentrated and sometimes very aggressive components such as the bile acids, resulting in an inflammation of the gallbladder. Normal intestinal inhabitants such as E. coli or enterococci or proteus can work their way up through the bile ducts and bile congestion to the gall bladder and settle and multiply in the gall bladder. The inflammation can thus be further intensified by the ascending intestinal germs. Whether gallstones or other flow disturbances are the causes can usually be determined quickly by a doctor using his examination methods.
Symptoms
The symptoms of gallstones and biliary colic are usually very impressive and manifest themselves in persistent severe undulating, i.e. increasing and decreasing pain in the upper right half of the abdomen. This pain is accompanied by nausea and vomiting.If the gallbladder is already inflamed, a typical severe pain occurs when pressing on the gallbladder or when resting in this region. The pain can also often radiate into the left shoulder.
As the bile is mainly secreted after eating, the gallbladder is more active at this time than between meals and the most severe pain therefore occurs after eating. Patients report that they are no longer able to eat fatty foods. If the bile accumulates back into the liver, the bilirubin with its yellowish color cannot be excreted through the bile and remains in the body.
If the amount of bilirubin exceeds a certain limit in the body, it can be recognized as a yellowish color of the skin, the so-called jaundice (= icterus). Due to the lack of fat digestion in food, the fat remains in the intestines and stool. This then becomes shiny from the fat and changes its color to grayish, since the brownish color is caused by the bilirubin that has remained in the body due to the obstruction of the bile duct.
