Common Bile Duct Dilatation Meaning

Common bile duct is part of the plumbing that drains the secretion of the liver bile into small bowel duodenum.

Common bile duct dilatation meaning.

1 that due to an obstructive factor localized at the junction of the choledochus with the duodenum as an abnormal angularity or congenital stenosis of the terminal common bile duct and 2 that due to a weakness originating in the common bile duct proper. Primary sclerosing cholangitis results in strictures in the bile ducts and is associated with ulcerative colitis and crohn s disease. The size of the common bile duct if dilated may suggest a blockage downstream. Recurrent pyogenic cholangitis is common in asian countries and is associated with biliary parasites.

This is a specific finding that is looked for when a patient gets an ultrasound for a suspected liver or gallbladder disease. The clinical significance of common bile duct dilatation in patients without biliary symptoms or causative lesions on ultrasonography we detected a significant number of causative biliary tract lesions in asymptomatic adults with dilatation of the cbd on routine abdominal us. It is later joined by the pancreatic duct to form the ampulla of vater. A biliary obstruction is a blockage of the bile ducts.

No laboratory or demographic parameters were useful for discrimination. Color doppler can be useful to ensure that dilated structures in the liver are actually bile ducts and not an intrahepatic vascular malformation. Choledochal cyst is a dilatation of the bile ducts outside the liver that is present at birth. The bile ducts carry bile from the liver and gallbladder through the pancreas to the duodenum which is a part of the small intestine.

Focal dilatation may be a result of downstream stricture or damage to the elasticity of that segment of bile duct possibly from prior stone passage. Many theories have been proposed to explain the origin of bile duct dilatation and can be divided into two groups. A dilated bile duct or one that is enlarged typically occurs when there is an obstruction blocking the flow of bile. When the bile cannot pass through a particular duct it builds up and the structure becomes distended.

It is formed by the union of the common hepatic duct and the cystic duct from the gallbladder. Most commonly the obstruction is caused by a gallstone but cysts or tumors are also possible.