gallstone

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gallstone (gawl-stohn) n. a hard mass composed of bile pigments, cholesterol, and calcium salts, in varying proportions, that can form in the gall bladder. They may cause severe pain (see biliary (colic)) or they may pass into the common bile duct and cause obstructive jaundice or cholangitis. Treatment is usually by surgical removal of the gall bladder (see cholecystectomy) or by removing the stones themselves, which can be either dissolved using bile salts given by mouth, or shattered by ultrasound waves.

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