Gallbladder Research Paper

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Pages: 3

The gallbladder is a small organ that aids in the digestion of food. The main function is to concentrate bile, a digestive enzyme that is produced in the liver, and store it until it is ready to be used. Bile travels from the liver to the gallbladder via the common hepatic duct. Bile then exits the gallbladder and drains into the small intestine via the common bile duct. The vagus nerve is a component of the digestive system that plays a vital role in gallbladder functioning. The vagus nerve innervates the liver and connects to the gallbladder. It alerts the body that food is being digested and that bile will be needed to assist in the digestion process. When the food enters the small intestine, the gallbladder excretes the bile. Bile is primarily used to break down lipids, or fatty foods, and neutralize acids. …show more content…
When the gallbladder is filling, the sphincter of Oddi closes, which causes bile to rush into the gallbladder, because a pressure gradient forces it in. The gallbladder would be filling in the instance that fasting is happening and no digestion is necessary. When the gallbladder is emptying, the sphincter of Oddi relaxes, allowing bile to flow freely out into the small intestine. This would be when the gallbladder is signaled that food is being digested. Whenever chyme, the mixture of food and digestive enzymes that the stomach produces, finally exits the stomach and a large amount of bile is absorbed back into the small intestine, the liver accelerates its production of bile, allowing it to prepare for the next cycle of digestion. (Peeters et al.,