Also called: Cholelithiasis
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 Gallstones
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. Gallstone attacks usually happen after you eat. Signs of a gallstone attack may include nausea, vomiting, or pain in the abdomen, back, or just under the right arm.
Gallstones are most common among older adults, women, overweight people, Native Americans and Mexican Americans.
Gallstones are often found during imaging tests for other health conditions. If you do not have symptoms, you usually do not need treatment. The most common treatment is removal of the gallbladder. Fortunately, you can live without a gallbladder. Bile has other ways to reach 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 Gallstones
517 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
- A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of CnU Capsule 750 mg in Patients With Cholesterol Gallstones(GB Stones).Myungmoon Pharma. Co. Ltd.
- Time to Loss of Consciousness With Remimazolam Versus Propofol for Anesthetic Induction in Laparoscopic CholecystectomyUniversidade Federal de Sergipe
- ABCG8, UGT1A1 and Gallstone Disease After Bariatric SurgeryEsbjerg Hospital - University Hospital of Southern Denmark
- "Comparison of of Volume-Controlled Ventilation and Pressure-Controlled Ventilation Modes in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy"Mehreen Mirza
- AI-Assisted Cholecystectomy StudyChinese University of Hong Kong
- Rectointercostal Plane Block (RICPB) for Laparoscopic CholecystectomyKoç University
Research already completed
- Validation of Differential Serum Levels for Five Minerals in South American Gallstone Patients With and Without Gallbladder CancerCentre Paul Strauss
- Validation of the Association Between the Abundance of Three Bacterial Genera in Stool Samples and the Risk of Gallbladder Cancer in South American Patients With GallstonesCentre Paul Strauss
- Transumbilical Versus Infraumbilical Pneumoperitoneum in Laparoscopic CholecystectomyDr Mudassar Saeed Pansota
- Tri-Radial Port Extension for Difficult Gallbladder ExtractionBangladesh Navy
- Common Bile Duct Pressure After Surgical ExplorationHospital General de Chihuahua - Dr. Salvador Zubirán Anchondo
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
- GallstonesMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- GallstonesNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Diagnosis and Tests
- Abdominal exploration - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
- Abdominal UltrasoundRadiological Society of North America
- HIDA ScanMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Treatments and Therapies
- CholecystectomyAmerican College of Surgeons
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) - seriesMedical Encyclopedia
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Gallbladder Cleanse: A "Natural" Remedy for Gallstones?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- CholecystitisMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CholedocholithiasisNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CholelithiasisNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Cholelithiasis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Gallstones, 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.