The main reason for the formation of bilirubin stones

Stones are a very special disease in the human body that can appear in multiple parts of the body, and gallstones are the most common one. Gallstones can be divided into many types depending on the cause, and bilirubin stones are the most typical one. Once bilirubin stones appear, patients will have symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, etc., which can easily be confused with other diseases. So, what is the main cause of bilirubin stones?

Pigment stones

Pigment stones are a general term for calcium pigment stones and melanin pigment stones. The main components of calcium pigment stones include free bile pigments, a small amount of calcium salts and organic matter (bacteria, insect eggs or epithelial cells). Stones may be present in the common bile duct or throughout the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct systems, but rarely occur in the gallbladder. Its characteristics are that the stones are muddy or lumpy, and some large stones are shaped similar to the dilated bile duct. Most stones are brown-yellow or brown-black, loose and fragile. The occurrence of stones is closely related to dietary structure, hygiene habits, bile tract infection, and biliary ascariasis. The incidence rate is higher among young and middle-aged people, and some clinical symptoms can often be traced back to childhood. The disease is chronic and progressive, seriously endangering the health of the working people.

Compared with calcium pigment stones, melanin stones are rare, but most of them occur in the gallbladder and are pathological stones. The stones that occur during hemolytic diseases or cirrhosis are almost all melanin stones. The difference between melanin stones and calcium pigment stones is that there is no bacterial infection in the surrounding bile.

symptom

Fever and chills: Fever is related to the degree of gallbladder inflammation. Gangrenous cholecystitis and suppurative cholecystitis may be accompanied by chills and high fever.

Gastrointestinal symptoms: When gallstones occur acutely, abdominal pain is often followed by gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea and vomiting. The vomitus is mostly gastric contents, and there is no obvious relief of abdominal pain after vomiting. After an acute attack, there are often symptoms such as aversion to greasy food, abdominal distension and indigestion.

Jaundice: Some patients with gallstones may experience transient jaundice, which usually occurs after severe abdominal pain and is relatively mild. Gallstones with cholangitis, compression of the common bile duct by an enlarged gallbladder causing partial obstruction, or transient damage to liver cells due to infection can all cause jaundice. It manifests as yellowing of the sclera of the eye.

Abdominal pain: Abdominal pain is one of the main clinical manifestations of gallstones. When gallstones occur, there is often typical biliary colic. It is characterized by paroxysmal spasmodic pain in the upper abdomen or right upper abdomen, accompanied by gradual aggravation, often radiating to the right shoulder and back. The cause of abdominal pain is that stones move from the gallbladder cavity to the cystic duct, causing stone obstruction. Because the cystic duct is blocked by stones, the pressure inside the gallbladder increases, the gallbladder smooth muscle contracts and spasms, and attempts to expel the gallstones, causing severe biliary colic.