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

Thirteen of those deaths were attributed to vanishing bile duct syndrome, a condition marked by the destruction of the ducts that carry bile out of the liver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 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

Two others had a rare bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 4, 2024

Thus in the instances above related, the termination of the bile duct in the duodenum, and the exterior extremity of the urethra, are more sensible than their other terminations.

From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus