Cholelithiasis

811 Words2 Pages

For 9 years, I've woken up as a dragon under attack, a persistent burning sensation had instilled in the pit of my stomach, causing pain to spread and radiate throughout my body. The fire burning in my veins, creeping to my throat, begging for release had become an everyday normality for me. This paper will evaluate what cholelithiasis is, the different types of gallstones, what race and gender are most affected, symptoms, modalities used to diagnose cholelithiasis, and the treatments used for cholelithiasis. Cholelithiasis is the medical term for gallstones, which are located within the gallbladder (Figure 1). It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. According to Lack (2003), there are two major types of gallstones: cholesterol and non-cholesterol pigmented stones. Gallstones are primarily composed of cholesterol, bilirubin, calcium salts, and other substances such as protein, bile acids, fatty acids, and inorganic salts. Classification of gallstones is based on chemical composition. Cholesterol stones are predominantly composed of more than 60% to 70% cholesterol with smaller amounts of calcium bilirubinate. Pure cholesterol stones are rare and can exists containing less than 10% of biliary calculi and over 90% cholesterol. Non-cholesterol stones or mixed cholesterol stones have a lower quantity of cholesterol and are mixed with pigmented substances such as calcium bilirubinate. Pigment stones can either be black or brown; black stones contain calcium bilirubinate and calcium carbonate, and about 50% are radiopaque. Brown pigment stones are generally associated with bacterial infection, particularly enterococci and Escherichia coli (p.415) (Figure 1). Gallstones are more common in women than men. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ia Blog RSS. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://radiopaedia.org/articles/cholelithiasis Gallstones. (2011, August 11). The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/gallstones/overview.html Gore, J. M. (2013). Cholelithiasis. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 26(12), 54-55. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.JAA.0000438244.25450.34 Lack, E. E. (2003). Cholecystitis, Cholelithiasis, and Unusual Infections of the Gallbladder. Pathology of the pancreas, gallbladder, extrahepatic biliary tract, and ampullary region (pp. 414-418). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Owen, D. A., & Kelly, J. K. (2001). Gallstones, Cholecystitis, and Reactive Changes in the Gallbladder Mucosa. Pathology of the gallbladder, biliary tract, and pancreas (pp. 232-235). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

Open Document