What is Bile?
'''Bile''' or '''gall''' is an [[Alkali|alkaline]], green-yellow [[fluid]]. It is secreted from the [[liver]] of most [[vertebrate]] animals, and is often stored in the [[gall bladder]]. Bile helps [[digestion|digest]] [[fat]]. The components of bile are, in descending order of composition, are: * [[Water]] * [[Cholesterol]] * [[Bile pigment]]s * [[Bile salt]]s The name ''gall'' comes from the [[Greece|Greek]] word ''cholè'' meaning green or yellow. These colours come from the bile pigments. One of them is green and the other is yellow. When they are mixed together, they make feces brown. The term cholesterol and the illness [[cholera]] were named after gall. Bile is also stored in bile ducts. Often after liver transplants, bile comes out of the body. Bile increases fats' total [[Surface-area-to-volume ratio|surface area to volume ratio]] so their digestion is easier and faster. Hence, more fats and fat-soluble [[vitamin]]s like vitamins [[Vitamin A|A]], [[Vitamin D|D]], [[Vitamin E|E]] and [[Vitamin K|K]] can be absorbed. This keeps fat out of [[feces]] so they are brown instead of white, grey or greasy. {{Biology-stub}} [[Category:Physiology]]