The function of the gallbladder as a lesser biliary circulation.

The function of the gallbladder is questioned in a hypothesis postulating that all bile which enters this reservoir is totally absorbed to the liver and none of it flows back to the cystic duct and duodenum. Cholecystokinesis is believed to increase and maintain a gradient of intravesical pressure which increases the filtration pressure necessary for the absorption of bile to the liver. The absorption is through the tributaries of the cystic veins, the ducts of Luschka and Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses. Although the hypothesis lacks experimental support, it is based on a number of anatomical, histological, physiological, radiological and surgical observations.