biliary tract

Examples of biliary tract in the following topics:

• Associated Organs

  • The branching of the bile ducts resemble those of a tree, and it is often referred to as the biliary tree or biliary tract .
  • It is connected to the liver and the duodenum by biliary tree.

• Gallstones

  • These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract including the cystic duct, common bile duct or pancreatic duct.
  • Presence of gallstones in other parts of the biliary tract can cause obstruction of the bile ducts, leading to serious conditions like ascending cholangitis or pancreatitis.

• Jaundice

  • It may also indicate leptospirosis or obstruction of the biliary tract by gallstones or pancreatic cancer; it may less commonly be congenital in origin.
  • Other causes include primary biliary cirrhosis, leading to an increase in plasma conjugated bilirubin because there is impairment of excretion of conjugated bilirubin into the bile.
  • Post-hepatic jaundice, also called obstructive jaundice, is caused by an interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system.
  • Other causes include strictures of the common bile duct, biliary atresia, cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatitis, and pancreatic pseudocysts.
  • Although pale stools and dark urine are a feature of biliary obstruction, they can occur in many intra-hepatic illnesses, so they are not a reliable clinical feature to distinguish obstruction from hepatic causes of jaundice.

• Skin Color as a Diagnostic Clue

  • It may also indicate leptospirosis or obstruction of the biliary tract, for example by gallstones or pancreatic cancer.

• Anatomy of the Liver and Gallbladder

  • The hepatic artery carries blood from the aorta to the liver, whereas the portal vein carries blood containing digested nutrients from the entire gastrointestinal tract and also from the spleen and pancreas to the liver.
  • The neck tapers and connects to the biliary tree via the cystic duct, which then joins the common hepatic duct to become the common bile duct.

• Malabsorption of Nutrients

  • Malabsorption is a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
  • Malabsorption is a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
  • The main purpose of the gastrointestinal tract is to digest and absorb nutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein, and fiber), micronutrients (vitamins and trace minerals), water, and electrolytes.
  • Enzymatic hydrolysis is initiated by intraluminal processes requiring gastric, pancreatic, and biliary secretions.
  • Causes of malabsorption include infective agents, structural defects, mucosal abnormality, enzyme deficiencies, digestive failure, or other systemic diseases affecting the GI tract.

• Sensory and Motor Tracts

  • The spinothalamic tract is a somatosensory tract and the corticospinal tract is a motor tract.
  • The spinothalamic tract is a sensory pathway originating in the spinal cord.
  • The types of sensory information transmitted via the spinothalamic tract are described as affective sensation.
  • The corticospinal tract conducts impulses from the brain to the spinal cord.
  • The corticospinal tract is made up of two separate tracts in the spinal cord: the lateral corticospinal tract and the anterior corticospinal tract.

• Organization of Motor Neuron Pathways

  • These are the upper motor neurons of the corticospinal tract.
  • They then descend as the lateral corticospinal tract.
  • These are the rubrospinal tract, the vestibulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the reticulospinal tract.
  • The function of lower motor neurons can be divided into two different groups: the lateral corticospinal tract and the anterior corticalspinal tract.
  • Included in the diagram are the following motor pathways: corticospinal tracts (pyramidal tract), and extrapyramidal tracts (tectospinal tract not delineated).

• Somatic Sensory Pathways to the Cerebellum

  • Both tracts involve two neurons.
  • The dorsal spinocerebellar tract does not decussate, or cross sides, at all through its path.
  • This is one of the few afferent tracts through the superior cerebellar peduncle.
  • The dorsal spinocerebellar tract (also called the posterior spinocerebellar tract, Flechsig's fasciculus, or Flechsig's tract) conveys inconscient proprioceptive information from the body to the cerebellum.
  • This tract involves two neurons and ends up on the same side of the body.

• Anatomy of the Digestive System

  • The upper gastrointestinal tract consists of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.
  • The lower gastrointestinal tract includes most of the small intestine and all of the large intestine .
  • It contains the plicae circulares and villi to increase the surface area of that part of the GI Tract.
  • The ligament of Treitz is sometimes used to divide the upper and lower GI tracts.
  • This image shows the position of the small intestine in the gastrointestinal tract.