Acute cholangitis results from a combination of biliary infection and partial or complete obstruction of the biliary system. Although biliary infection alone does not inevitably lead to clinical cholangitis, progressive biliary obstruction causes an increase of the intraductal pressure, which eventually leads to cholangiovenous and cholangiolymphatic reflux. Translocation of bacteria into the bloodstream results in septicemia, an often fatal complication of acute cholangitis.