This pear-shaped organ is found behind the liver and without it, digesting food would be a lot more difficult.
The primary function of the gallbladder is to store and concentrate bile, an acidic substance that is yellow-brown in color that is created by the liver. When it is not being used to assist in food digestion, the gallbladder is essentially a warehouse for the bile your body produces.
During digestion, after the food is passed through the small intestine, a hormone is released which causes the gallbladder to contract and release bile to assist breaking down the food.
The gallbladder is not a vital organ, meaning if an individual has this organ surgically removed, they will live.
A large number of people worldwide live without a gallbladder after surgical extraction due to gallstones, deposits that are created by an excess of salts and cholesterol.
Without the gallbladder, the bile is secreted from the liver directly into the intestines. The bile levels are lower, which means that digestion may take longer to complete. However, most patients are not required to change their diets after removing their gallbladder.
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