What sort of disease is cholangitis?

Charcot's Triad: Cholangitis is an infectious inflammation of the bile circulation which in turn results in inflammation of the liver. The hallmark signs of cholangitis are known as "charcot's triad" and include: right upper quadrant abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin). Cholangitis can be fatal if left untreated.

Bile Duct Infection: Chaolangitis occurs when a gallstone leaves the gallbladder and get stuck in the common bile duct, which normally drians bile into the small intestine. When a stone gets stuck, bile is unabel to drain and gets backed up, leading to an infection. Teh bile duct almost always needs to be cleared of stones - thsi is most commonly done by an endoscopy but can be done surgically.

Inflamed bile ducts: Cholangitis can be caused by bile duct inflammation from infections, blockage of ducts by stones, rarely by strictures ( benign or from cancer), it is also seen in patients with ulcerative colitis as primary sclerosing cholangitis. The treatment depends on the condition causing cholangitis.