title: The size and contractility of the gallbladder in infants.
abstract: The size of the gallbladder and the common bile duct as well as the contractility of the gallbladder were measured in infants under the age of 1 year. A total of 43 healthy infants were studied at their routine visit to the well-baby clinic at the ages of 6 weeks, 4 months, 8 months or 12 months. Gallbladder size was measured before and after a test meal. Fasting gallbladder size increased with the age of the infants. However, when the size was corrected for the infant's weight, no age-related variation was found. The contraction index (CI) was determined as a percentage decrement of planimetric gallbladder size from the initial size. The mean CI declined with age from 75% (+/- 27%) (mean (+/- SD)) at the age of 6 weeks to 24% (+/- 28%) at the age of 12 months. Overall CI varied from -44% to 100%. An increase in gallbladder size after the test meal was observed in 4 infants. Gallbladder volumes were also calculated, but two-dimensional measurements were regarded as more accurate in infants. A large variation was found in the size as well as in the contractility of the gallbladder in infants less than 1 year of age.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Finland.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Lehtonen
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Svedström
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Korvenranta
mesh_terms: D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D005215:Fasting; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology