The nonsurgical management of gallstone disease has drawn widespread clinical interest during the last decade as ultrasound surveys have indicated that cholelithiasis is predom inantly an asymptomatic condition and much more prevalent than previously thought. This book presents an overview of the pathophysiologic and pathobiochemical principles of gallstone formation and the consequences for clinical therapeutic regimens. New information concerning the balance between vesicular and micellar transport of choles terol, early cholesterol nucleation, and the influence of inhibiting and promoting...