Test Overview
A gallbladder scan is a
nuclear scanning test that is done to check
function. The scan can find blockage in the
tubes (bile ducts) that lead from the liver to the gallbladder and small
intestine (). See a picture of the
and the
.
During a gallbladder scan, a
substance is injected into a vein
in the arm. The liver removes the tracer from the bloodstream and adds it to
the bile that normally flows through the bile ducts to the gallbladder. The
gallbladder then releases the tracer into the beginning of the small intestine.
A special camera (gamma) takes pictures of the tracer as it moves through the
liver, bile ducts, gallbladder, and small intestine.