A review of gallbladder mucocele – part 1: aetiopathogenesis and diagnosis

Gallbladder mucocele is defined as a build-up of immobile mucus within the gallbladder that can result in extrahepatic biliary obstruction, pressure necrosis of the gallbladder wall and ultimately, rupture. The incidence of this disease has increased steadily in veterinary medicine and now it is one of the most recognised extrahepatic biliary tract problems in the dog. This is not likely to solely be a result of an increased incidence of the disease, but more so the increasingly widespread use of ultrasonography to diagnose it. There are several proposed causes and predisposing factors of gallbladder mucocele, including mechanical or functional obstruction of the cystic duct, idiopathic dyslipidaemias, glucocorticoid excess and cholecystitis. Although clinicopathological changes are often present, they are not specific to the disease and the gold standard diagnostic imaging tool is ultrasonography.