Gall-bladder water and electrolyte transport and its regulation.

Gall-bladder water and electrolyte transport and its regulation Diemerbroek' in 1672 appreciated that bile entered the gall bladder to 'acquire greater strength and digestive power'. A study by Rous and McMaster2 in 1921 and later work by Ravdin and his coworkers3 4 provided direct experimental support for the notion that the gall bladder concentrates hepatic bile by selective reabsorption of bile constituents. These early studies have been reviewed in detail by Ivy.5 The nature of water and electrolyte absorption by gall-bladder mucosa has been extensively studied by Diamond and his colleagues whose work has provided an important basis for understanding of transport by this and other more complex epithelia.68 Subsequent studies using isotope and Wood and Svanvik