ABSTRACT
Background The Roman anatomist Galen is credited with the first accurate description of the
gallbladder. The first successful cholecystectomy was performed in 1882 by Langenbuch. Courvoisier, who is well-known for his description of enlargement of the gallbladder due to an obstruction of the common bile duct by pancreatic cancer, also was the first to perform a choledochotomy with stone extraction in 1890.
