[Free fatty acids in the bile and blood serum in cholelithiasis]

The content of some lipid fractions of the bile and blood serum in calculous and acalculous cholecystitis has been studied by thin-layer chromatography. The findings evidence that a significant reduction of the free fatty acid concentrations and of the ratio of these acids and bile cholesterol is a characteristic feature of cholelithiasis. It has been also revealed that the activity of the serum lipolytic processes does not answer the hypertriglyceridemia level. The detected shifts may be used to characterize the bile lithogenicity and to diagnose cholelithiasis.