Doctors can suggest steps for you to take to lower your risk of bile duct obstruction by making healthy lifestyle choices such as: Show
Bile duct cancer is a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the bile ducts. Bile duct cancer is also called cholangiocarcinoma. A network of tubes, called ducts, connects the liver, gallbladder, and small intestine. This network begins in the liver where many small ducts collect bile (a fluid made by the liver to break down fats during digestion). The small ducts come together to form the right and left hepatic ducts, which lead out of the liver. The two ducts join outside the liver and form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct connects the gallbladder to the common hepatic duct. Bile from the liver passes through the hepatic ducts, common hepatic duct, and cystic duct and is stored in the gallbladder. When food is being digested, bile stored in the gallbladder is released and passes through the cystic duct to the common bile duct and into the small intestine. There are two types of bile duct cancer: Signs and symptoms of bile duct cancerThese and other signs and symptoms may be caused by bile duct cancer or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:
There are no routine screening tests to check for bile duct cancer before signs and symptoms occur. To learn about tests that are used to diagnose bile duct cancer, see Bile Duct Cancer Diagnosis.
If you would like to reproduce some or all of this content, see Reuse of NCI Information for guidance about copyright and permissions. In the case of permitted digital reproduction, please credit the National Cancer Institute as the source and link to the original NCI product using the original product's title; e.g., “What Is Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)? was originally published by the National Cancer Institute.” Want to use this content on your website or other digital platform? Our syndication services page shows you how. What organs does the bile duct connect?A tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder, through the pancreas, and into the small intestine. The common bile duct starts where the ducts from the liver and gallbladder join and ends at the small intestine. It is part of the biliary system.
Is the bile duct connected to the stomach?The common bile duct enters the small intestine at the sphincter of Oddi (a ring-shaped muscle), located a few inches below the stomach. About half the bile secreted between meals flows directly through the common bile duct into the small intestine.
Where does the bile duct lead to?Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct. It joins the cystic duct (carrying bile to and from the gallbladder) to form the common bile duct which then opens into the intestine.
What happens when the bile duct is blocked?When the bile ducts become blocked, bile builds up in the liver, and jaundice (yellow color of the skin) develops due to the increasing level of bilirubin in the blood. The possible causes of a blocked bile duct include: Cysts of the common bile duct. Enlarged lymph nodes in the porta hepatis.
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