STUDY ON DISSOLUTION OF HUMAN CHOLESTEROL GALLSTONES BY USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

Abstract

The dissolving phenomenon of human cholesterol gallstones composed of more than 80% cholesterol was studied by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Gallstones were divided into two groups, that is, a control group in which gallstones from 3 patients were incubated in beagle bile and another group which consisted of gallstones from 11 patients treated with chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA).
The incubation of gallstones in beagle bile reduced 16.5-39.4% of their weight. Comparing with the SEM features of the preincubated gallstones the most remarkable change after incubation was decrease in the number of small crystalline lumps. The facets of these platy crystals were waveshaped, their edges were irregularly shaped and their corners were rounded off. Still more, laminary plates were piled up closely before incubation, but after it, hollow gaps appeared between each plate. These changes were observed in both of the outer surface and the core and considered to result from the dissolution of the cholesterol crystals by beagle bile.
The SEM features of the gallstones from the patients treated with CDCA were identical to those of the control group and this suggests the process of dissolution of human cholesterol gallstoens by CDCA.