Acalculous disease of the gall bladder.

Acalculous disease of the gall bladder Cholecystectomy is a common operation in many countries of the world and gall stones are the overwhelming indication. Autopsy studies and sono- graphic screening in developed countries indicate that at least a quarter of the elderly female population possess gall stones, although the epidemic may have reached its peak.' The extreme prevalence of cholelithiasis diverts attention from the fact that the gall bladder can be host to a number of other conditions (Table ), some of which are lethal.