ABSTRACT
Bile is formed in the liver and delivered to the intestines via the duodenum. It is a complex fluid and its composition varies with the nutritional state and xenobiotic challenge of the individual. In addition to its secretory role of delivering bile acids and phospholipids for the facilitation of lipid digestion and absorption, bile serves the excretory role of delivering waste products to the intestines for elimination from the body. Biliary excretion plays a major role in the elimination of many compounds, both xenobiotics and endobiotics, and the principles balancing biliary excretion against other excretory routes are now becoming better understood.
