The hepatobiliary system is composed of the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts (within the liver and external to the liver). The liver produces bile, which is a fluid made of cholesterol, phospholipids, conjugated bilirubin, bile salts, electrolytes, and water. Bile, which assists in digestion and helps eliminate waste products, is stored in the gallbladder. The hepatobiliary system can be affected by infections, cysts, solid masses, ischemia, and mechanical flow obstruction, which mandate the presence of reliable imaging tests to determine the etiology. The methods that evaluate structural changes in the liver and biliary tract include ultrasonography, CT scan, and MRI (including magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography). Additionally, cholescintigraphy, a functional imaging study, helps identify gallbladder pathology by tracking the biliary pathway.
