Thanks! Good stuff

Thanks msteve, love the details. Have some thing sI don't understand though

"It enhances the effects of cholecystokinin which multiplies the demand for bile. Cholecystokinin is the primary hormone that signals the biliary system to supply bile."

-Supports what I've read online and that others have posted here.

"Lubricate the intestinal walls."

-Good to know it doesn't lubricate anything until its in the intestines, and not in the liver, gallbladder or bile ducts had some had me to believe.

"It increase the production of hepatic bile secreted from the cells lining the bile ducts. This swells the volume of the bile and hence the flow of bile through the biliary system."

-Everything I've found indicates that the secretion of bile comes from the liver and not the cell linings of the ducts- not sure it matters, just want to make sure I understand what I'm reading. As example:


http://www.steadyhealth.com/encyclopedia/Hepatic_duct


http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/liver/bile.html


"It stimulates the contraction of the gallbladder and simultaneous relaxation of the Sphincter of Oddi resulting in the delivery of bile into the duodenum."

-Matches everything I've been able to find

"The gallbladder contracts to its functional limits to maintain pressure in the biliary system and the bile ducts cells stream bicarbonate and water; the combined effect causes the bile ducts to expand and the bile gushes through a relaxed sphincter of Oddi.

Contraction of the gallbladder resulting in:
positive pressure in the bile duct which causes:
expansion of the bile ducts"

-Supports what I found, but I cannot find anything that can expands the ducts beyond their "functional limits". I guess I think of it as a garden hose, where it can be small or flat before you turn the water on, but once you do the hose expands to its full size. If I try and push a tennis ball through that it's not going to go.

If the stones are small enough I can't see any reason why they can't be pushed out, but if not, I can't see any reason how they can. From what I read a stone must pass from through the hepatic ducts (from liver) and the cystic duct (from gallbladder) before it reaches the commone bile duct. And everything says these are usually 4-6mm in size, but a few people have been found to have them as large as 10mm!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_hepatic_duct


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_duct


So I'm still confused as to where the large stones people say are as big around as a quarter or larger comes from- thats like a 1" boulder passing through a 1/4" hose. And if the posters are being true, common sense and the size of the liver & gallbladder tells me there is just too many of those for all of them to have come from there.

So I'm just as baffled as I was before. Thanks for helping me better understand though... it's nice to interact with people who don't call me names and such because I don't understand or have doubts. Tweet