Progress in medicine is variable both as to speed and as to the different fields involved. Medical knowledge of diseases of the gallbladder may be said to date from the fourteenth century, when the observation of gallstones at necropsy was first reported. The study of cholecystitis has been limited to the past century, while detailed knowledge of the normal function of the gallbladder has been obtained only within the past decade or two. A better understanding of the normal function of the gallbladder, on the other hand, has necessitated a revision of the theories regarding the pathogenesis of both cholecystitis and cholelithiasis.
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE GALLBLADDER
The present views regarding the normal physiologic activity of the gallbladder were summarized in the last review1 and need not be repeated. During the past year there have been no significant changes in these views.Biliary colic with pain radiating from the epigastrium