Gallbladder

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gallbladder

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Cholecyst
2. What is the key pathological condition?Cholelithiasis (gallstones), often leading to cholecystitis (inflammation)
3. What is the gallbladder and where is it located?The gallbladder is a small, pear‑shaped organ that sits on the bottom of the liver. It stores bile made by the liver until we need it to digest food.
4. How does the gallbladder help us digest fat?When we eat foods with fat, a hormone called CCK tells the gallbladder to squeeze out bile. The bile mixes with the fat, breaking it into tiny droplets that the body can absorb.

Bile Emulsification: The process by which bile salts break down large fat globules into smaller droplets.
Cholelithiasis: The medical term for the formation of gallstones within the gallbladder.
Cholecystokinin (CCK): A hormone that stimulates gallbladder contraction and bile release.