Biliary colic – sudden, cramping abdominal pain under the right rib cage that radiates towards the right shoulder blade; accompanied by nausea, vomiting and possibly fever, this set of symptoms may indicate gallbladder disease.
The bile-related colic is most often caused by gallbladder stones. After a dietary mistake (eating fatty food), the gallbladder contracts, but the stones inside it prevent the stored bile from reaching the duodenum.
This causes cramping pain and the symptoms mentioned above.
Biliary colic can also develop without gallstones, in the case of rarer, functional (motility) disorders of the gallbladder itself.
