ABDOMINAL EXPLORATION IN CASES DIAGNOSED CHOLECYSTITIS OR CHOLELITHIASIS BEFORE OPERATION

In a previous paper we¹ reported the results of abdominal exploration undertaken during operation for gastric or duodenal ulcer. A large variety of pathologic conditions, which had escaped detection preoperatively, were detected during laparotomy. Some of these conditions were merely of academic interest and probably were not productive of significant symptoms. Others were sufficiently masked by symptoms related to the disease of major importance to escape detection. Some were of definite clinical importance and should have been recognized preoperatively.

In reviewing the records of a large number of patients who had undergone cholecystectomy for cholecystitis or cholelithiasis, we became impressed by the large variety of associated diseases which were found. We believed that it might be of some interest (1) to tabulate the diseases most frequently found associated with cholecystitis or cholelithiasis; (2) to ascertain which diseases most frequently mask themselves in the syndrome of disease of the gallbladder and