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 Gallbladder Diseases
Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.
Your gallbladder is most likely to give you trouble if something blocks the flow of bile through the bile ducts. That is usually a gallstone. Gallstones form when substances in bile harden. Rarely, you can also get cancer in your gallbladder.
Many gallbladder problems get better with removal of the gallbladder. Fortunately, you can live without a gallbladder. Bile has other ways of reaching your small intestine.
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 Gallbladder Diseases
904 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
- Study on Sequential Cryoablation, Relaforp Alpha, and Chemotherapy for Bile Duct TumorsTianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital
- DESTINY-PANTUMOUR04AstraZeneca
- Development and Prospective Validation of an AI-Based Diagnostic Model for Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary DiseasesSecond Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University
- A Study of Rilvegostomig or Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy for First-Line Treatment of Biliary Tract Cancer (ARTEMIDE-Biliary02)AstraZeneca
- Efficacy and Safety of Zanidatamab With Standard-of-care Therapy Against Standard-of-care Therapy for Advanced HER2-positive Biliary Tract CancerJazz Pharmaceuticals
- Atezolizumab Plus Tivozanib in Immunologically Cold Tumor TypesUniversity of Florida
Research already completed
- Safety and Efficacy of EUS-guided Gallbladder Drainage Under Endoscopist-directed Conscious SedationAzienda Unita Sanitaria Locale di Piacenza
- Frailty is a Risk Factor PostcholecystectomyZagazig University
- Comparison Between Oral Gabapentin Versus Diclofenac Sodium in Post-operative Analgesia Laparoscopic CholecystectomySohag University
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
- Biliary Tract Disorders, Gallbladder Disorders, and Gallstone PancreatitisAmerican College of Gastroenterology
- Overview of Gallbladder and Bile Duct DisordersMerck & Co., Inc.
Diagnosis and Tests
- Abdominal UltrasoundRadiological Society of North America
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Hepatobiliary Nuclear MedicineRadiological Society of North America
- LaparoscopyNational Library of Medicine
Treatments and Therapies
- CholecystectomyJohns Hopkins Medicine
- Recovering After Emergency Gallbladder SurgeryAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Humble GallbladderHarvard Medical School
Living With
- Can You Recommend a Diet After Gallbladder Removal?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- Chronic Diarrhea: A Concern after Gallbladder Removal?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Sphincter of Oddi DysfunctionInternational Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CholecystectomyNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Gallbladder DiseasesNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Gallbladder Diseases. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Gallbladder 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.