Gallbladder, Gross Anatomy

Description

Positioned on the visceral surface of the liver in the right upper quadrant, the gallbladder is rendered in an X-ray style within a semi-transparent male torso, with the fundus projecting inferiorly toward the costal margin and the neck tapering medially toward the porta hepatis. The cystic duct emerges from the gallbladder neck and courses posteromedially to join the common hepatic duct, forming the common bile duct along the hepatoduodenal ligament. Posteriorly, the vertebral column provides a midline landmark, while the ribs arc laterally around the thoracoabdominal cage, clarifying the gallbladder’s relationship to the lower right thorax. Cholecystitis and symptomatic cholelithiasis are often taught using surface anatomy, and this semi-transparent perspective supports that teaching by tying the gallbladder fundus to its classic projection near the right 9th costal cartilage at the lateral border of rectus abdominis. Surgeons orient to the cystic duct and gallbladder neck when establishing the critical view of safety during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, where confusion between the cystic duct and common bile duct drives bile duct injury. Short and clear. Designed for gross anatomy and hepatobiliary teaching sets, this asset fits surgical education slides on Calot triangle relationships, radiology primers that explain why the gallbladder can be occult on plain film but contextualized on X-ray style schematics, and patient-facing graphics for gallstone disease. It also works well as an overlaid figure in textbooks describing extrahepatic biliary anatomy in adult males. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.