23: Gallbladder
Structure & Macroscopic Appearance
The gallbladder is placed in the fossa for the gallbladder, a depression on the visceral surface of the liver. It has three parts:
- The neck, which unites the gallbladder with the cystic duct. It is initially narrow and may have an 'S' shape
- The body, the central part
- The fundus, the wide sac distant from the neck.
Microscopic Structure
The gallbladder mucosa is covered with small ridges in a honeycomb pattern. The mucosa is simple columnar with a rich capillary network. There are no goblet cells as the gallbladder has a purely absorbing function.
Coding
See coding.
