Cancer Types – Gallbladder Cancer
Gallbladder Cancer: Overview
Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 04/2017
About the gallbladder
The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ located just under the liver. It is part of the biliary tract, along with the liver and bile ducts. The gallbladder stores bile, a fluid made by the liver that helps to digest fats. Bile travels through the liver to the gallbladder through the intra-hepatic bile ducts for storage. It is released from the gallbladder through a tube, called the common bile duct, as food is broken down in the stomach and intestines.
The gallbladder’s wall is made up of 3 main layers of tissue:
- the mucosa, which is the innermost layer and covers the wall of the gallbladder
- the muscularis, the middle layer of smooth muscle
- the serosa, the outer layer
Primary gallbladder cancer begins in the inner layer and spreads into the outer layers as it grows.
Read more about gallbladder cancer here.