NCLEX Hepatic and Biliary Practice Exam

Bile is stored in the gallbladder. While the liver continuously produces bile, the gallbladder concentrates and holds it until needed for digestion. When fat enters the small intestine, cholecystokinin signals the gallbladder to contract and the sphincter of Oddi to relax, pushing bile into the duodenum via the common bile duct. The other structures aren’t storage sites: the duodenum receives bile but does not store it; the cystic duct is a passage linking the gallbladder to the common bile duct; and the common bile duct is a conduit for bile flow, not a storage chamber.