gallbladder

noun

gall·​blad·​der ˈgȯl-ˌbla-dər 

plural gallbladders

: a membranous muscular sac in which bile from the liver is concentrated and stored before being passed to the intestinal duodenum

After a meal, the gallbladder contracts and injects several tablespoons of bile into the small intestines, where the detergent-like bile salts break up fats.

—David Schardt

For reasons not yet entirely clear, many people, women more often than men, are predisposed to forming stones in their gallbladder.

—Sherwin B. Nuland

Examples of gallbladder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Operations to treat appendicitis or ruptured gallbladders, for example, are emergency procedures, said Dr. Edward Schaeffer, the director of the Polsky Urologic Cancer Institute and chair of urology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. —Sara G. Miller, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2024

In the 1990s, Vietnamese farmers would extract bile by cutting into the bears’ abdomens and gallbladders then stitching them back up, Robinson said. —Jessie Yeung, CNN, 3 June 2023

Both drugs have potential side effects and complications such as thyroid tumors, and stomach and gallbladder problems. —Alexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 4 Jan. 2024

Some of that bile goes directly to your intestines, and the rest is stored in your gallbladder. —Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 12 Jan. 2024

There wasn’t an increase in risk for biliary disease, which includes conditions that affect the gallbladder, the liver and the bile ducts, as its incidence was similar for both types of drugs. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 5 Oct. 2023

People who had acupuncture before gallbladder surgery or hernia repair had less preoperative anxiety than those who took the anti-anxiety medication Midazolam, a type of benzodiazepine.5 In general, acupuncture has other benefits. —Stephanie Booth, Health, 1 Dec. 2023

Gallstones are hard, pebble-like materials that develop in your gallbladder, typically made of cholesterol or bilirubin. —Amanda Gardner, Health, 29 Oct. 2023

One common cause of gallbladder obstruction in dogs is cholecystitis, which refers to inflammation of the gallbladder. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

gall entry 1 + bladder

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gallbladder

noun

gall·​blad·​der ˈgȯl-ˌblad-ər 

: a muscular sac in which bile from the liver is stored

Medical Definition

gallbladder

noun

gall·​blad·​der ˈgȯl-ˌblad-ər 

: a membranous muscular sac in which bile from the liver is concentrated and stored before being passed to the duodenum

Gallstones are made of cholesterol, a normal component of the bile stored in the gallbladder.

—D. Shiga, Science News

Removal of the gallbladder—a pear-shaped sac in the right side of your abdomen—has little adverse effect on digestion. After surgery, bile flows directly from your liver to your small intestine rather than being stored first in your gallbladder.

—Mayo Clinic Health Letter