Digestive Diseases—Gallstones

Digestive Diseases—Gallstones
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What Are Gallstones?

Gallstones are hard, pebble-like pieces of material, usually made of cholesterol or bilirubin, that form in your gallbladder. Gallstones can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. The gallbladder can make one large gallstone, hundreds of tiny stones, or both small and large stones.
When gallstones block the bile ducts of your biliary tract, the gallstones can cause sudden pain in your upper right abdomen. This pain is called a gallbladder attack, or biliary colic. If your symptoms continue and they’re left untreated, gallstones can cause serious complications.
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
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A part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH is the largest biomedical research agency in the world.
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