STUDIES OF GALLBLADDER FUNCTION

Abstract

The frequency with which gallbladder disease follows pregnancy¹ cannot be considered a mere coincidence but must be the result of some altered condition in the biliary system in pregnancy, which predisposes to gallstone formation. The relationship is well illustrated in the data of Fallon,² who in 1927 analyzed 1,100 operations on the gallbadder and bile ducts and found that 700 of the patients were women who had borne children. We³ have shown that alterations in the chemical composition of the bile accompany biliary tract disease. Our earlier studies demonstrated that damage to the gallbladder wall is accompanied by profound changes in the composition of the gallbladder bile.⁴ Not only is this true of gallbladder damage but the liver bile may be altered in its composition by damage to the liver parenchyma.³ One must, in addition, take into account the possibility that either gallbladder bile or