Cholelithiasis refers to the presence of abnormal concentrations (gallstones) in the gallbladder. They mostly consist of cholesterol but sometimes they may be pigmented due to hemolysis (a condition characterized by the excess breakdown of Red Blood Cells (RBCs)), infection, or mixed (hemolysis and infection). Unfortunately for us women and fortunately for you Sons of Adam, gallstones are more common in females than in males with a ratio of 2-3:1. The peak incidence of the disease is approximately 40 years of age and about 10-20% of the adult population in developed countries has this disease. I know by now you are wondering, what on earth causes these stones or where do they come from. Well, wonder no more. Generally, an imbalance in bile salts, cholesterol, calcium carbonate, and bilirubin cause cholelithiasis. The key component in gallstone formation is biliary stasis. Bile stasis is caused by impaired gallbladder emptying. This can be due to several things such as bowel rest, this then leads to sludge in the biliary therefore causing bile stasis. There are three types of gallstones (GS); (i) cholesterol GS, (ii) mixed GS, (iii) black pigment GS. (i) About 95% of all gallstones are due to cholesterol and are thus called Cholesterol stones. Risk factors for these are: -Obesity -Age > 40 years of age -Family history -Malabsorption -European, Native…