Affixes

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.