Peer Reviewed
Clinical case review

A 35-year-old woman with adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder

Thomas B Hugh
Abstract
One of my patients, a 35-year-old woman, recently had some short-lived, fairly mild pain in the right upper quadrant. Physical examination and liver function tests were normal. An upper abdominal ultrasound was reported as showing adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder. Does the gall bladder need to be removed?
Key Points
    Commentary

    Adenomyomatosis of the gall bladder is a non-neoplastic condition in which there is hyperplasia of the mucous membrane and extension of the glandular structures into the muscularis of the gall bladder wall, associated with muscle hypertrophy. The protrusions of the mucosa are like small diverticula, and are known as Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses. The condition probably arises on a basis of increased pressure in the gall bladder lumen, possibly due to a neurogenic dysfunction either in the neck of the gall bladder or in the common bile duct.

Get full access
Subscribe for full access to all articles
Buy this article

Single article purchases are temporarily unavailable due to site maintenance.

If you would like to purchase an article during this time, please email us at [email protected] with the article details and we'll assist you directly. We'll also let you know when online purchasing is available again.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Already a subscriber?