Differentiation of gallbladder stones according to their external structure and cross-sectional morphological features such as color, size and shape

Gallstones are gravel-like substances that form over time inside the gallbladder and are one of the most painful biliary tract diseases in adults and are known to have a high incidence. Bile is composed of water, cholesterol, fats, bile salts, proteins and bilirubin. While bile can usually dissolve cholesterol, crystals that can eventually turn into stones can form in the presence of too much cholesterol. In some cases, an increase in bilirubin levels can cause stone formation. The process of gallstone formation can be listed as: hard chemical particles that form and develop inside the gallbladder after a complex series of events such as bile supersaturation, nucleation, stone accumulation and stone growth. Each gallstone has its own causes and formation mechanisms. The factors that affect the composition of gallstones can be classified as: age, diet, geographic region, obesity, weight loss and ethnicity. It is difficult to define a clear classification system according to the types of an ideal gallstone, but we can generally group them according to their main chemical composition. Key factors in the etiopathogenesis of gallstone disease can be determined by chemical, structural and elemental composition analyses. Different complementary analytical techniques, both microscopic and spectroscopic, can be applied and the ultrastructure of gallstones and the identification of trace elements can also be done. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural features of gallstones in sixty patients accepted for cholecystectomy from Erzincan and surrounding regions. In addition, when the structure of the stones was examined, concentric layers containing alternating dark and light colored bands were observed, emphasizing the importance of compositional changes in bile during the formation of gallstones.