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gallstone

gallstone

10 4.3
A small hard lump that forms in the gallbladder and can block the bile duct
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɔlˌstoʊn/
  • Specialized
: cálculo biliar
  • Women also have a markedly higher prevalence of gallstone disease.
  • gallstone disease
  • high prevalence of gallstones

So low fat diets absolutely increase your risk of forming gallstones and and gallbladder sludge.

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Examples

  • After experiencing severe abdominal pain, she discovered she had a gallstone blocking her bile duct.

  • So a having a gallstone is something that we want to get rid of, obviously in our body.

  • Pete Rose had a gallstone.

  • For some strange reason, I also started to develop gallstones at this point.

    Blog text (16)
  • Currently in the hospital with gallstones.

  • She told me she was just having some gallstones removed.

  • Gallstones are the reason why more than 90% of patients have a cholecystectomy.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We conclude that the presence of gallstones is probably an important factor in the causation of bile duct cancer.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Many people with high cholesterol are at risk of developing gallstones.

  • He scheduled an appointment to discuss the options for removing his gallstones.

Synonyms

bilestone
vsgallstone
  • Specialized
9.9

A hard stone that forms in the gall bladder and causes pain

is the other spelling of the same medical term for that mass

Surface Forms

gallstone singular
gallstones plural

Morphology

gallstone = gall + stone (semi-transparent) = gall + stone

The compound 'gall' + 'stone' is structurally clear, but 'gall' (bile) is a medical/less familiar word for many learners, making full inference harder.

Etymology

Gallstone comes from the parts gall ('bile', a bitter body fluid) and stone ('hard rock'). So a gallstone is literally a hard 'stone' made from bile in the gallbladder, which is why it means the small, hard mass that can form there.