eur/usd-1.04044%; usd/jpy +0.48761%; gbp/usd-0.79289%; usd/chf +0.76109%; usd/cad +0.64071%; eur/jpy-0.55790%; aud/usd-0.51522%; cny/usd-0.01216%
Bile passes out of the liver through the bile ducts and is stored in the gallbladder. After a meal, it is released into the small intestine. When the bile ducts become blocked, bile builds up in the liver, and jaundice (yellow color of the skin) develops due to the increasing levels of bilirubin in the blood. The possible causes of a blocked bile duct include: Cysts of the common bile duct. Enlarged lymp nodes in the porta hepatis.
Initial investigation should be directed at distinguishing between an intrahepatic or an extrahepatic acute cholestasis. The initial test is therefore abdominal ultrasonography to look for bile duct dilatation. The presence of bile duct dilatation on ultrasonography indicates that cholestasis is extrahepatic.