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Gallstones
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Digestive System

Gallstones

Gallstones are hardened deposits of bile that can block bile ducts, often requiring gallbladder removal if they cause symptoms.

Overview

Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ located under your liver. Its primary function is to store bile, a fluid produced by your liver to aid in the digestion of fat. As your stomach and intestines process food, the gallbladder releases bile through the common bile duct, which connects the gallbladder and liver to the small intestine.

Symptoms and Causes

The gallbladder is most likely to cause health issues if something obstructs the flow of bile through the bile ducts, which is typically caused by a gallstone. Gallstones form when substances within the bile harden.

Gallstone attacks generally occur after eating. Signs of an attack may include:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Pain in the abdomen, back, or just under the right arm

Risk Factors

Gallstones are most common among the following groups:

  • Older adults
  • Women
  • Overweight individuals
  • Native Americans
  • Mexican Americans

Diagnosis and Treatment

Gallstones are frequently discovered incidentally during imaging tests performed for other health conditions. If you are asymptomatic, treatment is usually unnecessary.

The most common treatment is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Patients can live without a gallbladder, as bile has alternative pathways to reach the small intestine.

Frequently Asked Questions

The liver continuously produces bile regardless of whether a gallbladder is present. After surgery, bile drips continuously directly from the liver into the small intestine rather than being stored and concentrated for release after meals. Most people adapt quickly with normal digestion. Some patients experience temporary loose stools or diarrhea, particularly after eating high-fat meals. This usually resolves within a few weeks to months as the digestive tract adapts, and can be managed by moderating dietary fat and gradually increasing soluble fiber.
gallbladder attack, or biliary colic, typically occurs 30 to 90 minutes after eating a meal containing fats or oils. Fatty food triggers the release of cholecystokinin, causing the gallbladder to contract forcefully against a stone that is temporarily blocking the cystic duct. This causes a steady, severe, aching pain in the upper right abdomen or center of the chest, which frequently radiates to the right shoulder blade or mid-back. Attacks usually last between 1 and 5 hours, often accompanied by nausea or vomiting, before subsiding.
In most cases, no. Gallstones discovered incidentally on scans that produce no symptoms are called silent gallstones, and the general standard of care is watchful waiting. The annual risk of developing symptoms or complications from silent stones is only about 1% to 2%. Surgery is usually reserved for people who develop biliary colic (pain attacks) or those with specific high-risk factors, such as a calcified "porcelain" gallbladder, very large stones, or an increased risk for gallbladder cancer.
You should seek immediate medical care if pain persists beyond 5 to 6 hours, or if you develop systemic warning signs. A sustained high fever and chills indicate acute cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation/infection). Yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice), dark tea-colored urine, and light or clay-colored stools suggest that a gallstone has migrated into and blocked the common bile duct (choledocholithiasis) or caused gallstone pancreatitis, both of which require urgent endoscopic or surgical decompression.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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