Getting to Know Cholecystitis

As published by the Harvard Medical School publications, the condition Cholecystitis is known as inflammation of the gallbladder. The gallbladder is the small sac-like organ that is located in the upper right side of the abdomen and is just below the liver. It is attached to the main duct that carries bile from the liver to the intestine. The function of the gallbladder is to temporarily store bile; a liquid containing a fat-digesting substance that is produced in the liver. During food intake, the gallbladder contracts, and bile moves from the gallbladder through small, tube-like passages (called the cystic duct and the common bile duct) into the small intestine. There, the bile mixes with the food to assist in the breaking down of fats.

Cholecystitis usually develops when a person has rock-like deposits that form inside the gallbladder, called gallstones. If a gallstone blocks the outflow from the gallbladder (the cystic duct), bile then becomes trapped inside the gallbladder. Chemicals in the trapped bile or a bacterial infection can then lead to inflammation of the gallbladder as a result.

Cholecystitis can manifest itself in two forms: Acute and Chronic Cholecystitis. Acute cholecystitis is the sudden inflammation of the gallbladder that causes targeted abdominal pain, often with nausea, vomiting, and fever. Chronic cholecystitis, on the other hand, is inflammation of the gallbladder at a lower intensity that lasts for a longer time. Cases of chronic cholecystitis may be caused by repeated attacks of acute cholecystitis and may cause intermittent mild abdominal pain or no symptoms at all. Damage to the walls of the gallbladder eventually leads to a thickened scarred gallbladder. Ultimately, the gallbladder can become more compact and lose its ability to store and release bile. Gallstones alone can cause episodes of cramp-like abdominal pain without any signs of infection. This is called biliary colic.

Women are more likely than men to get gallstones. According to Harvard Researchers, the risk of gallstones is also higher in: Anyone older than 60 years of age, women who are pregnant or have had multiple pregnancies, women who take estrogen replacement therapy or birth control pills, people who are obese, people who have lost weight rapidly, people who eat a high-fat diet.

Symptoms of Acute Cholecystitis may include: Pain. You may feel discomfort in the center of the upper abdomen, just below the breastbone, or in the upper right portion of the abdomen, near the gallbladder and the liver. In some cases, the pain extends to the right shoulder. Symptoms typically begin after eating. Fever and possibly chills may also occur, nausea and/or vomiting, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), dark urine and pale, grayish bowel movements. These symptoms appear when gallstones pass through the gallbladder and into the common bile duct, blocking the flow of bile out of the liver.

The major symptom