Cholecystitis is, as the name implies, an inflammatory change in the gallbladder. The main causes are stone obstruction and bacterial infection. Inflammation of the gallbladder results in congestion of the gallbladder wall, edema of the mucosa, epithelial detachment, infiltration of white blood cells, formation of necrosis and ulcers, and adhesion to surrounding tissues, and clouding of the bile. Further development will lead to gallbladder necrosis and perforation. At this time, the patient will experience severe pain in the right upper abdomen or discharge pain in the back of the right shoulder, followed by nausea, vomiting, and in more severe cases, high fever, chills and even jaundice. How are stones formed in the gallbladder? The mechanism of formation of gallstones is complex and inconclusive. Scientists keep generating new ideas through repeated studies. Studies have confirmed that stones in the gallbladder are not really stones. Now that we compare the biliary system to a river, it might be better to understand stones as sediment deposited in a river (although this analogy is not appropriate and comprehensive enough). We can imagine that a perfectly pure river will not deposit any sediment, and if the river is flowing smoothly, even if there is a tiny amount of sediment, it will go with the flow and not be deposited. If the water flow is slowed down or blocked for various reasons, only then will sediment be deposited. The sediment in the bile is not deposited by the sand and stones we eat, but mainly by the abnormal bile composition, resulting in the decrease of bile salts and lecithin or the increase of cholesterol content, and when the ratio is less than 1:13, cholesterol will be deposited and precipitated, and larger stones will be formed by aggregation. A large amount of literature points out that infection of the biliary system is an important factor in the formation of stones, especially the epizootic infection caused by biliary ascaris. According to domestic data, about 65% of stones are formed from Ascaris lumbricoides residues or eggs. Infected bile duct mucosa shedding cells and bacterial masses can also become the core of stones. What are the most common clinical symptoms of gallstones? Gallstones have different symptoms depending on their location. Gallbladder stones, common bile duct stones, and intrahepatic bile duct stones have different symptoms. Clinical symptoms of gallbladder stones When gallbladder stones are first formed without inflammation, they usually have no obvious symptoms, sometimes only nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Later on, there are different clinical manifestations depending on the size, location, obstruction and inflammation of the stones. When inflammation of the gallbladder occurs, there is fever, pain in the right upper abdomen and pressure pain in the gallbladder area, and the gallbladder is mostly not enlarged and cannot be retrieved. The gallbladder is not enlarged and cannot be palpated. If the stones are large or numerous and stick to the thickened base of the gallbladder, they can be palpated. If the stones are accompanied by purulent inflammation of the gallbladder, severe colic in the right upper abdomen, high fever, chills and vomiting may occur. Chills, vomiting, etc. Smaller gallbladder stones may drain into the cystic duct and common bile duct, potentially causing biliary colic.