ABSTRACT
Gallbladder stats apparently plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cholelithiasis during pregnancy. On the other hand, gallstones diagnosed immediatly after delivery disappear spontaneously during late puerperium in one third of these patients. Gallbladder emptying was assessed by biliary scintigraphy and ultrasonography in normal, multiparous volunteers. The two methods had an excellent correlation: thence, we used ultrasonography to determine gallbladder volume and contraction in pregnant and puerperal women. Fasting and postpandrial residual volumes were significantly larger during pregnancy, while the kinetics of gallbladder emptying was similar in nulliparous and pregnant women. During puerperium, gallbladder volume returned to the values observed in nulliparae; but the kinetics of emptying was significantly faster, suggesting an increased sensitivity of gallbladder muscle to physiologic stimuli