bile
Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The bile is a secretion from the liver cells, which - more during the day than at night - is supplied to the small intestine via the bile ducts and is used for fat digestion. Some of it is previously stored and concentrated in the gallbladder. Read everything you need to know about bile: function, composition and important health problems related to liver secretion!
What is bile?
The bile is a yellow to dark green liquid that is about 80 percent water. The remaining 20 percent consists primarily of bile acids, but also of other substances such as phospholipids (such as lecithin), enzymes, cholesterol, hormones, electrolytes, glycoproteins (proteins with a carbohydrate content) and waste materials. It also contains metabolic degradation products, such as bilirubin, which is produced when the red blood cells are broken down and is responsible for the color of the secretion.
What is the function of the bile?
The bile acids activate fat- and protein-splitting enzymes from the pancreas and the small intestine. They emulsify the fats that were ingested with food so that they can be broken down by the fat-splitting enzymes. With the breakdown products (free fatty acids, monoglycerides), the bile acids form so-called micelles (spherical aggregates) and thus enable their absorption, but remain in the intestine themselves and can "continue to work".
The bile acids (and lecithin) also form micelles with cholesterol. Only in this way can cholesterol be excreted in larger quantities. With the bile, other poorly water-soluble substances such as medicinal substances and metabolic degradation products are also eliminated from the body.
In the lower sections of the small intestine, the bile acids are largely absorbed and brought back to the liver via the portal vein (enterohepatic circulation) - they are to a certain extent recycled and only have to be produced anew in small quantities.
Where is the bile formed?
The bile is formed in the liver cells (about 0.5 to 1 liter per day) as a thin fluid secretion. This is known as liver bile. It is secreted into the tubular fissures between the cells, the so-called biliary capillaries or tubules. The small tubules unite to form larger ones and ultimately lead into the common hepatic duct. This forks into two branches: One opens into the gallbladder as a gallbladder duct. The other, the large bile duct, continues to the duodenum, the uppermost section of the small intestine.
If there is high-fat food in the intestine, the bile is released directly into the duodenum. If not, it can be stored temporarily in the gallbladder. It is thickened by dehydration and then referred to as bubble bile.
What problems can bile cause?
In the case of biliary colic or a high intestinal obstruction, vomiting of the bile (cholemesis) can occur.
If the bile contains too large amounts of cholesterol or bilirubin, these can precipitate and form “stones” (cholesterol stones, pigment stones). Such cholelithiasis can lead to other complications such as jaundice (jaundice) or inflammation.
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