chol(e)- Also cholecyst-.

Bile or gall.

[Greek cholē, bile.]

Cholera was so named because it was originally thought to be a disease of bile; cholesterol, an important sterol in the body, was first found in the gall bladder; hypercholesterolaemia (Greek haima, blood) is an abnormal increase in the levels of cholesterol in the blood; choline, a base present in the bile, regulates the deposition of fat in the liver (its derivative acetylcholine is an important transmitter of impulses between nerves).

The compound form cholecyst- (Greek kutos, a bladder) refers to the gall bladder, as in cholecystitis for inflammation of it, cholecystography for an X-ray examination of it, and cholecystectomy (Greek ektomē, excision) for its removal.

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