Hepatocyte synthesize bile. Bile is a greenish fluid containing cholesterol, phospholipids, bilirubin (a metabolite of red blood cell hemoglobin), and bile salts. It is secreted into biliary ducts. It then leaves the liver to be temporarily stored in the gallbladder before emptying into the small intestine. Bile salts act as "detergents" that aid in the digestion and absorption of dietary fats. Liver damage or obstruction of a bile duct (e.g., gallstone) can lead to cholestasis, (the blockage of bile flow, which causes the malabsorption of dietary fats), steatorrhea (foul-smelling diarrhea caused by non-absorbed fats), and jaundice.