Biomaterial Database

The ultrastructural study on epithelium of gallbladder with gallstones. 1996

K T Lee, and P C Sheen

Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.

To investigate the fine structures of epithelium, 30 patients bearing gallstones were subjects for this study: ten for gallbladders with cholesterol stones, 10 for pigment stones and 10 for the control. The electron microscopic examination of these specimens revealed that all the epithelial cells from three gallbladder models had similar ultrastructural features. The most striking feature was the presence of numerous mucous droplets in the apical portion of the all epithelial cells. Another prominent finding was multivesicular bodies predominantly in gallbladders with pigment stone. Golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria were apparent and well-developed. Crescent and semi-circular structures were found exclusively in gallbladders with cholesterol gallstones. According to the well-developed Golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic reticulum and abundant mucous droplets, these epithelial cells are presumably mucus secretory cells. The gallbladder epithelium may play an important role in regulating the stone formation.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D002769	Cholelithiasis	Presence or formation of GALLSTONES in the BILIARY TRACT, usually in the gallbladder (CHOLECYSTOLITHIASIS) or the common bile duct (CHOLEDOCHOLITHIASIS).	Gallstone Disease,Cholelithiases,Gallstone Diseases
D004848	Epithelium	The layers of EPITHELIAL CELLS which cover the inner and outer surfaces of the cutaneous, mucus, and serous tissues and glands of the body.	Mesothelium,Epithelial Tissue,Mesothelial Tissue,Epithelial Tissues,Mesothelial Tissues,Tissue, Epithelial,Tissue, Mesothelial,Tissues, Epithelial,Tissues, Mesothelial
D005704	Gallbladder	A storage reservoir for BILE secretion. Gallbladder allows the delivery of bile acids at a high concentration and in a controlled manner, via the CYSTIC DUCT to the DUODENUM, for degradation of dietary lipid.	Gallbladders
D006056	Golgi Apparatus	A stack of flattened vesicles that functions in posttranslational processing and sorting of proteins, receiving them from the rough ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM and directing them to secretory vesicles, LYSOSOMES, or the CELL MEMBRANE. The movement of proteins takes place by transfer vesicles that bud off from the rough endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus and fuse with the Golgi, lysosomes or cell membrane. (From Glick, Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1990)	Golgi Complex,Apparatus, Golgi,Complex, Golgi
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man