Gallstone disease historical perspective

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Historical Perspective

The characteristics of gallstones are various. Independent of appearance, however, gallstones from animals are valuable on the market.

Gallstones are, oddly, a valuable by-product of meat processing, fetching up to US$32 per gram in their use as a purported antipyretic and antidote in the herbal medicine of some cultures, particularly in China. The finest gallstones tend to be sourced from old dairy cows, which are called Niu-Huang (yellow thing of oxen) in Chinese. Those got from dogs, called Gou-Bao (treasure of dogs) in Chinese, are also used today. Much as in the manner of diamond mines, slaughterhouses carefully scrutinize official department workers for gallstone theft.