Xiao Zhou had a severe stomach ache at night, and even after reviewing it, he didn't eat anything unclean. However, after going home and lying down to rest at night, he felt his stomach ache attack. In fact, the cause of "stomach pain" does not necessarily lie in the "stomach". If the "stones" hidden in this organ cause trouble, it is easy to mistake it for stomach pain. Many patients with gallstones may experience stomach pain, and the "stones" mentioned earlier are hidden in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is located in the upper right abdomen, so many people believe that pain in the upper right abdomen is gallbladder pain. In fact, the discomfort caused by gallstones can also manifest in other aspects, which can be quite confusing. After eating, the gallbladder contracts and excretes bile through the bile ducts, helping to digest fat. If there are stones in the gallbladder, when the gallbladder contracts, it is easy to push the stones to the neck of the gallbladder, causing the stones to get stuck and causing pain. Patients often say that when gallstones occur, they may experience symptoms of stomach pain. What's going on here? We need to understand the transmission of pain here. Taking the hand as an example, pain in the hand is transmitted by the somatic nerves. For example, if a finger is punctured, we can accurately locate the location of the pain. The pain in the gallbladder is transmitted by visceral nerves, making it difficult for us to accurately locate the specific location of the pain. Due to the proximity of the gallbladder to the stomach, some patients may mistake it for stomach pain when gallstones occur. Why do stones grow in the gallbladder? The shape and color of gallstones vary, mainly related to their chemical composition. Gallstones can be composed of multiple components, with cholesterol stones having a higher cholesterol content and a harder texture. Bile pigment stones usually have irregular shapes and are relatively easy to break. There is also a special type of black bile pigment stone. Mixed stones contain both cholesterol and bile pigment components. The main function of bile is to digest and absorb fat. In addition to water, bile also contains bile acids, phospholipids, and cholesterol. Cholesterol is normally insoluble in water and requires a mixture of bile acids and phospholipids to dissolve cholesterol in different proportions. If there is too much cholesterol or too little bile acid that dissolves cholesterol, cholesterol will precipitate and form cholesterol stones. Gallstones not only occur in the gallbladder, but can also occur in the bile ducts. With the improvement of people's living standards, more and more stones occur in the gallbladder. Relatively speaking, there are fewer primary bile duct stones, and the most common cholesterol stones mainly occur in the gallbladder. How to detect gallstones and cause trouble? What is the difference between gallstone pain and stomach pain? The pain caused by gallstones being stuck is called biliary colic, which is different from stomach pain. The cause of pain caused by gallstones is generally pain after eating greasy food, while stomach pain is mostly pain on an empty stomach, which may be relieved after eating. The pain caused by gallstones is usually biliary colic, which can be severe, while the symptoms of stomach pain are mostly discomfort or dull pain, which is not very severe. The symptoms of atypical gallstones, in addition to abdominal pain, sometimes cause shoulder pain, usually in the right shoulder, which is also related to nerve innervation. And stomach pain does not cause pain in the right shoulder. If the stones are stuck, the secondary symptoms may occur