Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Dr. Barbara Kaiser-McCaw Hecht is Director of Hecht Associates, Inc., consultants in Medical Genetics based in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Hecht is a Diplomat of the American Board of Medical Genetics both in Clinical Cytogenetic (Chromosome Genetics) and Medical Genetics (Genetic Counseling). Dr. Hecht attended Stanford University from which she received a BA and an MA in Biology.
Frederick Hecht, MD, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. Hecht is a Pediatrician and Medical Geneticist and is certified by both the American Boards of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. Dr. Hecht was born and raised in Baltimore and attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. and the Sorbonne at the University of Paris receiving his BA degree cum laude with distinction from Dartmouth.
The oral cholecystogram, or OCG, is a radiologic procedure for diagnosing
gallstones. An oral cholecystogram is in contrast to an intravenous cholangiogram (IVC).
For an OCG, the patient takes iodine-containing tablets by mouth for one night or two nights in a row. The iodine is absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream, removed from the blood by the liver, and excreted by the liver into the bile. The iodine, together with the bile, is highly concentrated in the gallbladder. Iodine is used in an OCG because it is dense and radioopague (stops x-rays). It outlines the gallstones that are radiolucent (x-rays pass through them) and that are usually invisible on x-ray.
The bile ducts themselves cannot be seen on the x-ray in an OCG because the iodine is not concentrated in the ducts. Therefore, any gallstones lodged in the ducts will go undetected on OCG.
Failure to visualize the gallbladder on an OCG may occur for one of two reasons. First, a gallstone may have obstructed the cystic duct and prevented the iodine-containing bile from entering the gallbladder. Second, inflammation of the gallbladder -- usually due to gallstones -- may have interfered with the gallbladder's ability to concentrate bile and iodine. Whichever the cause, failure to visualize the gallbladder on an OCG strongly suggests a diseased gallbladder.
The risks of an oral cholecystogram are few. One, of course, is the radiation. However, in an OCG there is a relatively small amount of radiation from the x-rays.
Another risk involves the iodine. Some people are allergic to iodine. Fortunately, most people who are allergic know that they are, and therefore do not undergo the test.
Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. There can be just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or any combination. The majority of gallstones do not cause symptoms.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
"Just a spoonful of sugar... " goes the song. But what happens to that sugar once you swallow it? In fact, how is it that you are able to swallow it at all? Your digestive system performs amazing feats every day, whether you eat a double cheeseburger or a stalk of celery. Read on to learn what exactly happens to food as it makes its way through your digestive system.
What Is Digestion?
Digestion is the complex process of turning the food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestion process also involves creating waste to be eliminated.
The digestive tract (or gut) is a long twisting tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. It is made up of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food and other cells that produce enzymes and hormones to aid in the breakdown of food. Along the way are three other organs that are needed for digestion: the liver, gallbladder, and the ...
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