Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Bile Duct Diseases
Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile. Your gallbladder stores it between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine. The bile helps break down fat. It also helps the liver get rid of toxins and wastes.
Different diseases can block the bile ducts and cause a problem with the flow of bile:
- Gallstones, which can increase pressure in the gallbladder and cause a gallbladder attack. The pain usually lasts from one to several hours.
- Cancer
- Infections
- Birth defects, such as biliary atresia. It is the most common reason for liver transplants in children in the United States.
- Inflammation, which can cause scarring. Over time, this can lead to liver failure.
It sits within Digestive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Bile Duct Diseases
1,212 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Fenofibrate in Subjects With Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases
- LEOPARD Training and Validation Data Collection StudyAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- LEOPARD Prospective Validation Cohort 1Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Study on Clinical and Pathological Features of Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Risk Factors Related to Disease ProgressionBeijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals
- Precision Integrated Strategies and Efficacy Evaluation for Biliary Tract Cancers: An Umbrella Platform StudyZhejiang University
- Long-Term Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy in Participants With Primary Biliary Cholangitis of Saroglitazar Magnesium-V on Clinical OutcomesZydus Therapeutics Inc.
Research already completed
- Global Linerixibat Itch Study of Efficacy and Safety in Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) (GLISTEN)GlaxoSmithKline
- Study of OCA in Combination With BZF Evaluating Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability in Participants With PBCIntercept Pharmaceuticals
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Bile Duct DiseasesHarvard Medical School
Diagnosis and Tests
- Alkaline PhosphataseNational Library of Medicine
- Bilirubin Blood TestNational Library of Medicine
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) TestNational Library of Medicine
- HIDA ScanMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- MRCP (MR Cholangiopancreatography)Radiological Society of North America
Treatments and Therapies
- Biliary InterventionsRadiological Society of North America
- Biliary obstruction - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
Related Issues
- About Liver FlukesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Biliary Tract Disorders, Gallbladder Disorders, and Gallstone PancreatitisAmerican College of Gastroenterology
Genetics
- Alagille syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Arteriohepatic DysplasiaGenetic and Rare Diseases Information Center
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Bile Duct DiseasesNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CholangitisNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CholestasisNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Cirrhosis, BiliaryNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Bile Duct Diseases. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Bile Duct Diseases, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.