[Gallbladder pathology in Temuco, IX Region]

We reviewed the histological (light microscopy) findings in 1553 biopsies obtained after surgery for gallbladder disease and correlated these with demographic characteristics of patients. Cancer of the gallbladder was present in 6.1%. Women prevailed in all age and disease groups, especially in mapuches (11:1). Both for neoplastic and nonneoplastic disease the proportion of patients with mapuche surnames was lower than expected for the population in the area. 52% of neoplastic lesions were not macroscopically apparent. Seven tumors involved only the mucous layer and 2 were intraepithelial. Only 2 tumors were well differentiated. The liver was the organ most frequently invaded by gallbladder cancer.