Non-neoplastic diseases of the gallbladder

Cholecystitis is the most prevalent surgical disease of industrialized countries, and usually results from cholelithiasis. More than 20,000,000 people in the United States have gallstones, 40% of whom will require surgical intervention. Although assessing gallbladder specimens is generally straightforward, enhanced detection of asymptomatic gallstones, incidental cholecystectomy, and improved diagnostic criteria for systemic illnesses account for an increasing number of cholecystectomy specimens that lack typical features of gallstone-related disease. A spectrum of immune-mediated disorders and infections may also be observed in gallbladder specimens. The purpose of this review is to discuss the manifestations of gallstone-related gallbladder injury, and different types of acalculous cholecystitis.