Symptom Courvoisier: manifestations and help

The digestive system performs an important function - it ensures our vital functions. The organs of the digestive system are easy to study in comparison with others, but a very big difficulty lies in ensuring their full-fledged work. There are many poorly studied pathologies of the organs of this system. One such pathological abnormality is a disease called the "Courvoisier symptom".

What is the symptom of Courvoisier?

This symptom many experts can determine without any difficulties, because the clinical manifestations can not be confused with anything. This disease is characterized by the presence of an enlarged gallbladder. The most surprising is that it is painless, and also tense to the touch. Also an accompanying sign is jaundice. Very often people simply do not pay attention to the yellow skin tone appeared and the internal organ enlargement. We are used to the fact that if it does not hurt, then it is not worth worrying about. But the appearance of this symptom can inform us about many things.

Causes of pathology

Symptom Courvoisier is manifested due to blockage of the main duct bile tumor near the large papilla of the duodenal ulcer (Fater nipple) or a tumor of the head of the pancreas. Most often this tumor is malignant. From this it can be concluded that the symptom of Courvoisier is only the consequence of some basic human disease. This state of the body is not characteristic for such a disease as choledocholithiasis.

Why does the gallbladder not stretch?

Increase in the gallbladder and jaundice indicate a malfunctioning organ initially. When the Courvoisier-Terrier symptom appears, the cause may be not only a malignant tumor (although this happens in most cases). There may also be stones in the gallbladder. Just at this stage, he becomes a hostage of himself. What is the matter, why does this body not stretch, giving the opportunity to leave the bile, but simply clogged up? Here the mechanism is as follows: the gallbladder becomes the "base" for the appearance of stones, simultaneously with the process of formation of pathogenic elements, it suffers from chronic cholecystitis. As a result of this, fibrous-cicatricial changes occur on the tissues of the bladder and lead to the fact that it becomes inflexible, inextricable. For this reason, at the slightest disturbance - a tumor or stone - the gallbladder is clogged, and can no longer function fully.

What else can accompany this symptom?

The main characteristics of a person's state, when he manifested a symptom of Courvoisier, are described above. But there are data on patients' complaints about several other morbid conditions. Many patients note that often itchy itching, sometimes there may be a feeling of heaviness in the epigastric region and the right hypochondrium. In addition, some patients say that there are such conditions as weakness and darkening of urine. All this is explained by the neglected process of intoxication due to the closed passage of bile.

By combining all these states into one symptom, the specialist must do more clinical tests and tests for the presence of other symptoms. This is very important, as further treatment of a person will depend on this. Analyzes are made that determine the presence of such symptoms: Ortner, Georgievsky-Mussi, Murphy. If, after the results of the analyzes, their indicators are negative, then we are talking only about such a phenomenon as the symptom of Courvoisier.

With the confirmation of pathology, such therapeutic measures as cholecystectomy, transduodenal papillosfinkterotomy or choledochotomy can be performed.