The gall bladder is a storage point for bile which is made by the liver and released onto food as it passes down the intestine. Bile helps to digest the food. Stones can form in the gall bladder and can lead to irritation of the gall bladder which often causes pain. The gallbladder can become quite swollen and infected and this is called cholecystitis. Such gall bladders often have to be removed by an operation in order to get the patient back to health. If gall bladder stones move out of the gall bladder and get lodged in the bile duct this can cause obstruction to the flow of bile from the liver/gall bladder to the intestines and can cause
the patient to become jaundiced -
turn yellow and get itchy skin.
