Medical Dictionary

sphincter of Oddi

noun sphincter of Od·di \ -ˈäd-ē \

medical Definition of sphincter of Oddi

: a complex sphincter closing the duodenal orifice of the common bile duct

Biographical Note for sphincter of oddi

Oddi play \ˈȯd-dē\, Ruggero (1864–1913), Italian physician. While studying in vivo the action of the bile on digestion, Oddi discovered the sphincter of the common bile duct. He later measured the tone of the sphincter by perfecting an experimental device very similar to the device now used for the intraoperative manometry of the bile ducts.