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Ch. 22 The Digestive System
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All textbooksErin C. Amerman 2nd EditionCh. 22 The Digestive SystemProblem 22.1a

Chapter 22, Problem 22.1a

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.



a. Why are his symptoms worse when he consumes a high-fat meal? Would you expect his symptoms to worsen or lessen when he consumes a meal consisting only of carbohydrates? Explain.

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Hi, everyone. Let's take a look at this practice problem together, Mister James is suffering abdominal pain due to gallbladder stones that are obstructing his common bile duct identify which of the following meals will aggravate his condition. The answer options are a carbohydrate rich b fat rich C protein rich and D all of the above recall that the common bile duct transports bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. This is important because what is bile recall that bile is a yellow green fluid that is stored in the gallbladder and when it's released into the small intestine, it aids in fat digestion if f is unable to leave the gallbladder. What is the significance of this? Now, let's say you consume a meal with fats in it. What happens is the gallbladder is stimulated to contract and it releases bile again into the small intestine. However, because of the gallbladder stones that Mr James has, there's an obstruction and that contracting of the gallbladder will produce pain because you have both the gallbladder stones and the bile attempting to pass through that common bile duct. Now, bile does not aid in the digestion of carbohydrates or proteins. So we can eliminate options A and C because they are unlikely to aggravate Mr james' condition. The correct answer is a fat rich meal because again, bile is important for fat digestion. So the correct answer is option B fat rich. All right, everyone. I hope you found this helpful and I'll see you soon for the next practice problem.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Which of the following statements about accessory organ secretions is not true?


a. Hepatocytes produce bile, which drains out of the liver via the common hepatic ducts.

b. Saliva contains secretory IgA and lysozyme, which play an important role in preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity.

c. Pancreatic juice contains digestive enzymes and bicarbonate ions to neutralize the acidic chyme.

d. The gallbladder produces bile, which drains out of the gallbladder via the cystic duct.

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Textbook Question

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.



b. You test Mr. Williams's stool and find high amounts of undigested fats. Explain this finding.

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Textbook Question

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.



c. Explain why his feces have become a clay color instead of a normal brown color.

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Textbook Question

Which of the following best describes the microscopic structure of the liver?


a. Hexagonal plates of hepatocytes surrounding a central vein with portal triads at each corner

b. Octagonal plates of hepatocytes surrounding a central artery with portal triads at each corner

c. Irregular groups of hepatocytes surrounding a central vein with bile ducts at each corner

d. Hexagonal plates of hepatocytes surrounding a portal vein with bile ducts at each corner

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