bile duct

American  

noun

Anatomy.

• bile ducts
  plural

1. a large duct that transports bile from the liver to the duodenum, having in humans and many other vertebrates a side branch to a gallbladder for bile storage.

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bile duct Scientific  

1. Any of the passages that carry bile from the liver or gallbladder to the duodenum.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bile ducts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bile duct

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bile duct

Some cases involved vanishing bile duct syndrome, a liver condition characterized by the progressive destruction of bile ducts in the liver, the agency said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

CA19-9 levels can rise in non-cancerous conditions like pancreatitis or bile duct obstruction, and some people do not produce the marker at all due to genetic differences.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026

“While recovering from the transplant, he contracted a bile duct infection, which led to hemodialysis to filter out the toxins in his body.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025

She had half her pancreas, bile duct and gall bladder removed, along with part of her gut and stomach.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2025

If the bile duct was long, it pointed to a long life.

From The Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 by William Osler