Review article: defects in gall-bladder motor function--role in gallstone formation and recurrence.

The pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones is now recognized as a multifactorial process, including saturation of bile with cholesterol, destabilization of bile leading to cholesterol crystals and hypomotility permitting crystal growth, and agglomeration and retention of microstones which then grow to macroscopic gallstones. In the last 15 years meticulous research has demonstrated convincing evidence that many patients with cholesterol gallstone disease have a distinct defect in gall-bladder motor function that is induced by bile saturated with cholesterol.