Which body fluid is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid digestion?

Which body fluid is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid digestion?

• A. Blood
• B. Bile
• C. Urine
• D. Lymph

Answer: (B)

Bile is the digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid digestion. The liver’s hepatocytes continually synthesize bile, which is then concentrated and stored in the gallbladder. When a fatty meal is eaten, the gallbladder contracts and releases bile into the small intestine via the common bile duct, stimulated by the hormone cholecystokinin. Bile’s primary role is to emulsify fats, breaking large fat droplets into smaller ones to increase the surface area for pancreatic lipase to act, which makes fat digestion and absorption more efficient. Other fluids don’t fit this function: blood is the circulating fluid carrying oxygen, nutrients, and waste; urine is the kidney-derived waste product excreted from the body; lymph is the fluid in the lymphatic system involved in immune responses and fluid drainage.

Bile is the digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid digestion. The liver’s hepatocytes continually synthesize bile, which is then concentrated and stored in the gallbladder. When a fatty meal is eaten, the gallbladder contracts and releases bile into the small intestine via the common bile duct, stimulated by the hormone cholecystokinin. Bile’s primary role is to emulsify fats, breaking large fat droplets into smaller ones to increase the surface area for pancreatic lipase to act, which makes fat digestion and absorption more efficient.

Other fluids don’t fit this function: blood is the circulating fluid carrying oxygen, nutrients, and waste; urine is the kidney-derived waste product excreted from the body; lymph is the fluid in the lymphatic system involved in immune responses and fluid drainage.