Cholecystitis chronic cholecystitis. Rupture is a rare but serious complication that leads to abscess formation or peritonitis. Massive rupture of the gallbladder has a mortality rate of 30%. Untreated cholecystitis can lead to worsened inflammation and infected bile that can lead to a collection of pus surrounding the gallbladder, also known as empyema. The symptoms of empyema are similar to uncomplicated choleystitis but greater severity: high fever, severe abdominal pain, more severely elevated white blood count. The inflammation of cholecystitis can lead to adhesions between the gallbladder and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, most commonly the duodenum. These adhesions can
Time is the Simplest Thing body and explore the universe. They are accompanied by a small machine that can record experiences and gather physical samples. Some explorers have returned with minds affected by what they encountered. Those explorers have disappeared and never been heard from again. Blaine returns from one expedition having encountered an intelligence that looks like a large pink blob sitting immobile in a room open to the sky. The blob greets him telepathically with the message "Hi pal! I trade with you my mind." Blaine immediately feels the alien mind alongside his own. Returning to his body, he knows he must get