Welcome back to the channel where medical topics are made easy.
The goal of this video is to walk you through the different gallbladder and biliary diseases,
and to help you better understand and visualize them.
I know it can be tough to remember the different terms and what the diseases are,
especially when the names are similar.
So I’m going to help you with that.
I’m going to show you some easy tricks and visuals, and by the end of the video
you’ll have a clear understanding of all the different diseases shown.
So let’s get right into it!
You can find the PDF notes and study guides for this video linked down below.
The first thing we’re going to do to help
us understand the different terms is to split them into
2 groups based on the ending of the word.
One of the tricks to remembering the different diseases is to simply break down the word.
2 of the words end in “Lithiasis”
and the other 2 words end in “Itis”
We know from our medical terminology videos that
lithiasis refers to the presence or formation of stones.
So for lithiasis, I want you to simply remember stone.
Lithias equals stone.
Say that over and over in your head until it sticks.
We also know form our medical terminology videos that “itis” means inflammation.
So for itis, I want you to simply remember inflammation.
Again say itis equals inflammation over and over until it sticks.
I’ll link the medical terminology videos in the description if you want to check those out.
So now we know the terms cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis will have to do with stones.
And the terms cholecystitis and cholangitis will have to do with inflammation.
Next we have to figure out where the stones are and where inflammation is taking place.
For that let’s look at each term starting with cholelithiasis.
So what is cholelithiasis?
Well we already know lithiasis refers to stone.
But what does chole mean?
Chole refers to gall or bile.
So if we put the word together we have gallstones.
And that’s exactly what cholelithiasis is, it’s the presence or formation of gallstones,
usually located in the gallbladder.
We’re going to see these terms again so write them down if you’re taking notes.
Let’s look at an image to help you visualize what’s going on so it sticks in your memory.
We can see we have the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
The right and left hepatic ducts exit the liver and join to form the common hepatic duct.
The gallbladder connects to the common hepatic duct through the cystic duct.
And together the cystic duct and common hepatic duct form the common bile duct.
As we mentioned before, cholelithiasis is the medical term for gallstones.
Gallstones are hardened deposits that can form in the biliary tract,
usually in the gallbladder as shown in the image.
Many people live with gallstones and they don’t even know they have them.
Gallstones don’t necessarily cause symptoms.
But problems can occur when the gallstones start to move around
or get stuck which we’re going see coming up.
Ultrasound can be used to diagnose gallstones.
And the treatment will depend on the presentation
but it might include conservative management or gallbladder removal.
So to recap,
We have chole which means gall or bile
And lithiasis which means stone.
So cholelithiasis means gallstones.
More specifically it means the presence or formation of gallstones in the biliary system,
usually in the gallbladder.
Next we have cholecystitis.
We already know itis means inflammation.
But where is this inflammation taking place?
We can break down the rest of the word to find out.
We already know chole means gall or bile.
So the last part of the word is cyst, which means bladder.
So if we put chole and cyst together, then we have gallbladder.
And if we put the entire word together, then we have inflammation of the gallbladder.
And that’s exactly what cholecystitis is, it’s inflammation of the gallbladder,
usually caused by gallstones obstructing the cystic duct.
Let’s go back to our diagram and visualize this.
We can see we have our yellow gallstones in the gallbladder again.
As we mentioned before, gallstones don’t always cause problems but they can if they start to move.
Occasionally a gallstone can move into the cystic duct,
and this can cause right upper quadrant abdominal pain.
This is known as biliary colic, which is abdominal pain that occurs when a gallstone either obstructs
or tries to move through the biliary ducts, in this case the cystic duct.
This pain is relieved if the gallstone moves back into the gallbladder.
This is why biliary colic can be intermittent, or in other words the pain comes and goes.
It just depends on what the stone is doing, where it’s at, and how it’s traveling.
Sometimes the gallstone moves into the cystic duct and it stays there.
This blocks the gallbladder outflow tract,
and the content in the gallbladder is stuck.
It's unable to flow out of the gallbladder and through the cystic duct.
This will eventually cause inflammation to everything behind the obstruction.
Infection can also develop because the stagnant content in the gallbladder
that’s just sitting there becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.
This obstruction can cause cholecystitis,
which is inflammation of the gallbladder.
Symptoms may include right upper quadrant abdominal pain, fever, and nausea or vomiting.
Cholecystitis can be diagnosed with ultrasound as well.
Treatment usually includes antibiotics and gallbladder removal called cholecystectomy.
So to recap,
We have chole which means gall or bile.
And we have cyst which means bladder.
If we put it together, then cholecyst means gallbladder.
And itis refers to inflammation.
So cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder.
Let’s move on to choledocholithiasis.
And as always let’s break down the word first.
We already know lithiasis means stone.
But where is the stone located?
We can use choledocho to find out.
Choledocho refers to the common bile duct.
So if we put it together,
then choledocholithiasis is the presence of a gallstone in the common bile duct.
You know the drill, let’s go back to our diagram and visualize this.
And again, the medical terminology videos will be linked in the description
if you want a quick review of these medical terms.
So we can see we have our gallstones in the gallbladder again.
We already talked about how sometimes gallstones can move into the cystic duct.
Well sometimes gallstones can form or move even further down the tract into the common bile duct.
This is known as choledocholithiasis,
which is the presence of gallstones in the common bile duct.
Remember we said gallstones can cause pain when they obstruct or move through the bile ducts.
This is why choledocholithiasis can cause abdominal pain as well,
usually in the right upper quadrant or epigastric region.
It can also cause jaundice along with nausea and vomiting.
Why do we see jaundice or yellowing of the skin with choledocholithiasis
but not the other diseases we talked about so far?
Well, look at where the stone is.
The gallstone is in the common bile duct and it’s not only potentially obstructing the outflow of
the gallbladder, but it’s also affecting the outflow of the liver which can lead to jaundice.
While ultrasound can show signs of choledocholithiasis,
an ERCP or MRCP is sometimes necessary to diagnose it.
Treatment usually includes removing the stone and gallbladder,
along with antibiotics if there is concern for infection which we’ll talk about next.
So to recap,
Choledocho refers to the common bile duct,
And lithiasis refers to stone.
So choledocholithiasis is the presence of gallstones in the common bile duct.
The final disease is cholangitis.
Let’s break down the word again.
We know itis means inflammation.
We also know chole means bile or gall
Angio refers to a vessel or duct.
So together cholangio refers to bile duct.
If we put the entire word together, then we have cholangitis which means inflammation
of the bile ducts, usually caused by a gallstone obstructing the common bile duct.
Let’s go back to our diagram and visualize it.
We have our gallstones in the gallbladder again.
We know that sometimes gallstones can form or move into the common bile duct.
This is known as choledocholithiasis as we just talked about.
But if the gallstone obstructs the common bile duct long enough,
then this can cause inflammation to everything behind it.
This includes the gallbladder, liver, and bile ducts.
This is known as cholangitis,
which is inflammation of the bile ducts,
usually caused by a gallstone obstructing the common bile duct.
We know from our talk on cholecystitis that
an obstructed stone will block content from passing through.
This can lead to inflammation as well as infection
from all that content that’s unable to pass by the stone.
As a result, symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain,
jaundice, altered mental status, and nausea or vomiting.
Diagnosis will be similar to choledocholithiasis with an ultrasound, ERCP, or MRCP.
There are other imaging modalities like CT that can diagnose everything we’ve talked about so far,
but the other options tend to be first line.
Blood work is typically ordered as well.
You can find that information in the future videos
where we’ll talk about each of the diseases in more detail.
Treatment usually includes stone and gallbladder removal, along with antibiotics.
So to recap,
Chole means bile or gall,
And angio means duct or vessel.
So cholangio refers to bile duct.
Itis means inflammation.
So cholangitis is inflammation of the bile ducts.
Hopefully this helped clarify the different types of gallbladder and biliary diseases.
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You can find the PDF notes and study guides for the video linked down below.
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