Does gall bladder inflammation appear to be the same thing as gall bladder wall thickening on an ultrasound? or are they completely different?

Sort of: A thickened gallbladder wall can indicate cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation), but many other conditions can cause a thickened gallbladder wall, including having eaten in the 6 hours before the exam, ascites (intraabdominal fluid), or chronic inflammation. Hope this helps!

Can be both: Thickening can be acute inflammation if you have fever/pain and incr. WBC's or chronic scarring after many previous attacks

Gallbladder: Thickening can be the result of a process, indicating likely long term intermittent inflammation/pathology including gallstones, abnormal gallbladder contraction,pancreatitis, right heart failure,hepatitis . Inflammation is an acute process that needs to be immediately addressed, usually caused by gallstones or abnormal gallbladder contraction.