[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Histology](https://durgical.com/en/histology/) › [Digestive system](https://durgical.com/en/histology/#a-digestive) › Gallbladder and bile ducts

[Histology](https://durgical.com/en/histology/) · [Digestive system](https://durgical.com/en/histology/#a-digestive)

# Gallbladder and bile ducts

- Organ

The gallbladder is a small sac that stores and concentrates bile; its wall is thin and lacks some layers the gut has.

Updated 2026-11-01

**See it in 3D:** [Gallbladder](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/gallbladder/) · [Cystic duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/cystic-duct/) · [Common hepatic duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/common-hepatic-duct/) · [Common bile duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/bile-duct/)

## Key points

- Gallbladder wall: mucosa, muscularis, perimuscular tissue, serosa; no submucosa and no muscularis mucosae.
- Epithelium: simple tall columnar with microvilli; its job is to absorb water.
- Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses = chronic cholecystitis.
- Cholecystokinin contracts the gallbladder.

## What it is

The gallbladder concentrates bile made by the liver and squeezes it into the duodenum after a fatty meal. Its wall is unusual: a highly folded mucosa of tall columnar cells, then a loose layer of smooth muscle, with no muscularis mucosae and no submucosa. Bile ducts are lined by cuboidal to columnar cholangiocytes. These features explain stones, cholecystitis and how infection and cancer spread.

## Structure

- Mucosa: simple tall columnar epithelium with microvilli, thrown into folds; a lamina propria beneath.
- No muscularis mucosae and no submucosa.
- Muscularis: irregular bundles of smooth muscle.
- Perimuscular connective tissue, then serosa on the free surface and adventitia where it rests on the liver.
- Bile ducts: cuboidal epithelium in small ducts, becoming columnar in the larger extrahepatic ducts.

## Step by step

- Hepatocytes secrete bile into canaliculi.
- Bile drains through bile ductules and interlobular ducts into the hepatic ducts.
- Between meals the sphincter at the ampulla is closed and bile backs up into the gallbladder through the cystic duct.
- The gallbladder epithelium absorbs water and salts, concentrating bile several-fold.
- Cholecystokinin from the duodenum makes the muscularis contract and the sphincter relax.

## Clinical notes

- Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses: pockets of mucosa pushed into the muscle wall, typical of chronic cholecystitis.
- Acute cholecystitis usually follows a stone blocking the cystic duct.
- Cholesterolosis: lipid-laden macrophages in the lamina propria give a yellow-speckled mucosa.
- Because there is no submucosa, gallbladder cancer reaches the liver early.

## Memory aid

The gallbladder is a sponge without a mattress: folded mucosa straight on the muscle, no submucosa.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Which layer of the typical GI wall is missing from the gallbladder?

The submucosa, and also the muscularis mucosae.

## What are Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses?

Outpouchings of gallbladder mucosa into the muscle layer, a sign of chronic cholecystitis.

## Which hormone makes the gallbladder contract?

Cholecystokinin, released by duodenal I cells when fat reaches the duodenum.

[Add to my cards (3)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/histology/gallbladder-and-bile-ducts/)

## See it in 3D

The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it is found.

- [Gallbladder](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/gallbladder/)
- [Cystic duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/cystic-duct/)
- [Common hepatic duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/common-hepatic-duct/)
- [Common bile duct](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/bile-duct/)

## Related

- [Liver: lobule, acinus, hepatocytes, sinusoids, Kupffer cells](https://durgical.com/en/histology/liver-lobule-acinus-hepatocytes-sinusoids-kupffer-cells/)
- [Pancreas: acini and islets](https://durgical.com/en/histology/pancreas-acini-and-islets/)
- [The GI tract wall: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, serosa; enteric plexuses](https://durgical.com/en/histology/the-gi-tract-wall-mucosa-submucosa-muscularis-serosa-enteric-plexuses/)

## Related conditions

- [Gallstones (cholelithiasis)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/gallstones/)
- [Acute cholecystitis](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/acute-cholecystitis/)

[← All of histology](https://durgical.com/en/histology/)

Educational content on normal microscopic structure and its clinical relevance; no substitute for studying slides or for a health professional's advice.

Sources: [23.6 Accessory Organs in Digestion: The Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder - Anatomy and Physiology 2e | OpenStax](https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/23-6-accessory-organs-in-digestion-the-liver-pancreas-and-gallbladder) (OpenStax (Rice University), 2022); [Accessory Organs | SEER Training](https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/digestive/regions/accessory.html) (National Cancer Institute (SEER Training), 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/histology/gallbladder-and-bile-ducts/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/histology/gallbladder-and-bile-ducts/