Encyclopedia > Bile (biology)

  Article Content

Bile

Redirected from Bile (biology)

Bile ( or gall) is a bitter, greenish-yellow alkaline fluid secreted by the liver of many vertebrates. It is stored in the gall bladder[?] between meals and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion, especially of fats. Besides its digestive function, bile serves as the route of excretion for hemoglobin breakdown products (bilirubin) which give bile its colour. Bile also contains cholesterol, which occasionally accretes into lumps in the gall bladder, forming gallstones[?]

Yellow and black bile were two of the four vital fluids or humours of ancient and medieval medicine; for example, melancholia was believed to be caused by a bodily surplus of black bile.


Bile is also another name for Belenus, a god in Brythonic mythology.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Anna Karenina

... of Anna and Vronsky. As they, Anna and Countess Vronsky are leaving the station there is a railway suicide of an unnamed woman. External Links Full text available ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 23.8 ms