Acholia

acholia

[¦ā′kōl·ē·ə]

(medicine)

Suppression or absence of bile secretion into the small intestine.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Acholia

 

cessation of entry of bile into the duodenum; symptom of some diseases, usually of the biliary tract (obstruction of the common bile duct). Bile arrested in the liver enters the bloodstream. Acholia is characterized by jaundice; blanched, clay-colored stools; bile-colored urine; itching; occasionally severe cerebral phenomena (delirium, coma); hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes; and sometimes elevated temperature. The treatment consists in eliminating the causes of acholia.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.