The biliary tract in inflammatory bowel disease.

In summary, the biliary tract seems particularly vulnerable to damage in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. The intrahepatic histological features of the common entity, pericholangitis, and the uncommon lesion, sclerosing cholangitis, overlap and, some feel, may be different manifestations of the same hepatobiliary insult. The potentially important role for cholangiography in distinguishing between usually banal and frequently serious disease is evident. Not knowing the cause of either lesion, appropriate preventive measures or treatment are not available. The role of the inflammatory disease in the potential development of cholangiocarcinoma is not clear. Cholelithiasis secondary to ileal dysfunction is usually independent of the other three processes.