The gallbladder
Gallbladder · vesica biliaris
A small pouch under the liver that stores bile and squeezes it out after a fatty meal.
What it does
The gallbladder is a pear-shaped bag tucked under the liver. It stores and concentrates bile between meals. When fatty food reaches the small intestine, a hormone makes the gallbladder squeeze and send bile down the bile duct to break the fat into tiny droplets.
Surprising fact
You can live perfectly well without a gallbladder; after it is removed, bile simply trickles straight from the liver into the gut.
Why it matters
Bile can form hard stones in the gallbladder. Most never cause trouble, but a stone stuck in a duct causes sharp pain under the right ribs after meals.
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.