The Reason One Experiences Pain in the Right Upper Quadrant - Case Study Example

Whenever people eat, bile is squeezed out of the gallbladder into the duodenum to help in the digestion of food (Crutchlow, Dudac, MacAvoy and Madara 212).
The reason one experiences pain in the right upper quadrant is because of the position of the gallbladder, and what happens to the gall bladder whenever it is blocked by the gallstones. The gall bladder has the cystic duct through which bile flows into the duodenum. A blockade of this duct means that bile cannot pass through. It becomes concentrated in the gall bladder causing irritation and inflammation. This inflammation causes pain that radiates to the surrounding parts. This is why an individual with gallstones experiences pain in the right upper quadrant that may further extend to the back (Whitney & Pinna 565; Bluth & Benson 1).

When one eats, more bile is produced from the liver, and this goes into the already inflamed gall bladder. The act of eating stimulates the gall bladder to contract and push the bile into the duodenum for the normal digestion process. Because of the existence of the gallstone on the cystic duct, the contraction causes pain (Crutchlow, Dudac, MacAvoy and Madara 213). If Martha gets lucky and the doctor finds out that the gallstones can be dislodged, they will pass through the duodenum. Here they can be dissolved using ursodeoxycholic acid or can pass through the intestine (DeBruyne, Whitney & Pinna 565). Read More