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 Read about events on Capitol Hill, funding for rare-disease research, and other topics of interest from NORD's office in Washington, DC.
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"Resources" on this report.
Copyright 1989, 1997, 1998, 2010
NORD is very grateful to Diana L. Heiman, MD, Associate Residency Director, Associate Sports Medicine Fellowship Director, University of Connecticut/St. Francis Family Medicine Residency Program, Team Physician Connecticut Sun, Team Physician Hartford Public Schools, for assistance in the preparation of this report.
Synonyms of Cholecystitis
- acalculous cholecystitis
- calculous cholecystitis
Disorder Subdivisions
General Discussion
Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder, the pear-shaped muscular sac the lies below the liver. The gallbladderÂ’s main function is to store and concentrate bile and to expel bile through the bile duct into the intestine to assist with the digestion of fats. Bile is a greenish-brown liquid produced by the liver that helps to break down fats present in the small intestine during digestion. Cholecystitis may come on suddenly (acute) or may persist over a period of time (chronic).
Acute cholecystitis is usually caused by obstruction of the outlet of the gallbladder, which is often due to the development of a stone formed in the biliary tract (gallstone or biliary calculus). Repeated mild episodes of acute cholecystitis may result in chronic cholecystitis, which may be characterized by thickening and shrinking of the gallbladder walls and a resulting inability to store bile. Cholecystitis may cause a variety of symptoms including severe pain in the right side of the abdomen (right upper quadrant) and/or back, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, fever, and persistent yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, and whites of the eyes (jaundice). In some cases, there may be additional symptoms.
Organizations related to Cholecystitis
- CORE
3 St. Andrews Place
London None NW1 4LB
Phone #: 020- 74-86 0341
800 #: N/A
e-mail: info@corecharity.org.uk
Home page: http://www.corecharity.org.uk
- Digestive Disease National Coalition
507 Capitol Court, NE
Suite 200
Washington DC 20002
Phone #: 202-544-7497
800 #: --
e-mail: ddnc@hmcw.org
Home page: http://www.ddnc.org
- Genetic and Rare Diseases (GARD) Information Center
PO Box 8126
Gaithersburg MD 20898-8126
Phone #: 301-251-4925
800 #: 888-205-2311
e-mail: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/EmailForm.aspx
Home page: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD
- NIH/National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way
Bethesda MD 20892-3570
Phone #: 301-654-3810
800 #: 800-891-5389
e-mail: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov
Home page: http://www.niddk.nih.gov
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