A 50-year-old member asked:
What is a collapsed gallbladder and what are its causes?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Barry Rosenanswered
General Surgery 36 years experience
Healthy!: The gallbladder's function is to empty it's contents into the intestinal tract in response to eating. A healthy gallbladder will empty almost-completely and may appear contracted or collapsed on ultrasound. It is harder to see gallstones on ultrasound when the gallbladder is contracted. Therefore, it is best to have an ultrasound after a period of fasting when looking for gallstones.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Creighton Wrightanswered
surgery 58 years experience
Don't know: It fills and empties as part of its work.
If diseased and scarred to a nubbin that could be called collapsed.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 37-year-old male asked:
What causes the gallbladder to collapse?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Charles Cattanoanswered
Gastroenterology 41 years experience
It's empty: The gallbladder largely functions as a bag that concentrates bile made in the liver. Between meals, bile flows from the liver into the bile duct, and it is "sucked" into the gallbladder where it is concentrated between 8-20 x. When you eat, various stimuli including cck release stimulate gallbladder contaction, and the concentrated bile is then emptied into the small intestine to mix with food.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Feb 5, 2021
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