What does the Gallbladder do?

Before we can go further and discuss what the gallbladder does, we first need to know what the gallbladder is. The gallbladder is a diminutive gastrointestinal organ, with a shape that resembles a tiny pear that aids the small intestines with the digestion of food. It is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen just below the liver.

Ever thought of how the term “gallbladder” came to be?

It all started during the medieval times in Europe. Back then, Europeans strongly believed that health was dependent on four vital fluids comprising the body — blood (red bile), mucous/phlegm (white bile), black bile (that came from the spleen), and yellow bile (the one that came from the gallbladder). They believed that an imbalance among these four vital fluid - having too much of these fluids or having too little of them, affected general health and mood of the individual. Too much yellow bile circulating to the body was supposedly believed to stir aggression or "gall" if you use the medieval English term. Thus, the cause of an antagonistic behavior is the "gall" bladder. Pretty fancy, huh?

So now that you know what the gallbladder is and a little bit of its history, it's time we answer the million dollar question, “What does the gallbladder do?”

The main function of the gallbladder is the storage of bile and bile salts as well as controlling the release of the bile - a yellowish-green aqueous substance that breaks up the fat in food.

Bile is actually manufactured by the liver. After producing bile and bile salts, the liver distributes them to the duodenum, the upper portion of the small intestines, through the common bile duct. Once in the small intestines they breakdown fats into smaller substances enabling the body's gastrointestinal system now to digest and absorb the fatty portion of foods.

More often than not, the liver produces large amounts of bile and as a result, excess bile is left from this process of production. It is now the gallbladders duty to store the excess bile and release it the next time the body needs it or when the individual eats a meal. Aside from storing bile, the gallbladder also concentrates the stored bile and removes excess water and unnecessary salts from it, making the bile a more effective and more potent liquid that breaks down fats.

So now you know what the gallbladder does for your body.

Though the gallbladder is considered amongst the smallest organs but it has quite an important function of acting as a organ which stores the bile which is secreted by the liver. Therefore a common question in this aspect would be What Does The Gallbladder Do as it is in a close proximity with the liver and helps in storing the liver bile. The approximate dimension of a gallbladder in a normal healthy human being would be around 8cm in length and 4 cm in width. The answer to What Does The Gallbladder Do would be to be a part of the process which is the digestion of fat. Bile is a very important component that is required by the body to break down all types of fats and cholesterols. The liver is the organ which helps in the breakdown of the fats and cholesterols and the bile is given by the gallbladder and after utilization by the liver for breaking the fats it is again stored in the gallbladder.

Though there are many problems associated with the gallbladder as it gets irritated due to different digestion problems and if it gets irritated then it becomes swollen in size which poses quite a big problem. The question What Does The Gallbladder Do has another major function of the secretion of cholecystokinin which is quite important and needs in the body. When bile is stored inside the gallbladder it helps in making it more thick and beneficial for the human being in digesting the fat. In this process there might also be provisions of the formation of stones in the gallbladder which is quite harmful for the body and as well as the digestion process is hampered. These stones block the pathway for the movement of food from the liver to the intestines. There are also instances when the gallbladder is removed from the person but the person still keeps on living for quite a long time without the gallbladder except the fact that the person needs to reduce their intake of fat and cholesterol substances to a certain extent.

There are many ways in which the gallbladder of a person is removed such as surgeries and now days there are other methods which are involved such as the laser technology or many more. The latest technology that is possible can be checked online and then discussed with a doctor for the most appropriate method for any particular person.