gall bladder

Thân thiện

The doctor points to the patient's gall bladder on the medical chart.

Definition

Noun: A small, pear-shaped, muscular sac located beneath the liver. Its primary function is to store and concentrate bile, a digestive fluid produced by the liver, and release it into the small intestine to aid in the digestion of fats.

Usage and Examples

The term "gall bladder" is used to refer to the specific organ in medical, biological, and general health contexts. * The surgeon removed her inflamed gall bladder. * A diet high in fat can sometimes lead to gall bladder problems. * Bile is stored in the gall bladder between meals.

Advanced Usage

• "Gall bladder attack": A common term for the sudden pain caused by a gallstone blocking a duct.
  • She was rushed to the hospital with a severe gall bladder attack.
• In medical terminology, the process of surgical removal is a cholecystectomy (removal of the gall bladder).

Variants and Related Words

• Gallbladder (noun): A common alternative spelling, written as one word.
• Biliary (adjective): Relating to bile, the bile ducts, or the gall bladder.
  • He had a biliary obstruction.
• Cholecystic (adjective): Pertaining specifically to the gall bladder.
  • The ultrasound showed cholecystic disease.
• Gallstone (noun): A hardened deposit that can form within the gall bladder.
  • The pain was due to a gallstone.

Synonyms

• Bile bladder: A direct descriptive synonym, though less commonly used in everyday English.
• Cholecyst: The formal anatomical/medical term for the gall bladder.

Notes on Meaning

The word "gall" in "gall bladder" is derived from an Old English word for "bile." It is not related to the modern word "gall" meaning boldness or irritation. The organ is named for its function of holding "gall" (bile).

Học thuật

Noun

1. a muscular sac attached to the liver that stores bile (secreted by the liver) until it is needed for digestion

Từ đồng nghĩa

• gallbladder