Final answer:
A blocked bile duct impairs fat digestion and absorption due to the disruption of bile flow, which is necessary for emulsifying and digesting fats. The correct option is A.
Step-by-step explanation:
A patient diagnosed with a blocked bile duct will experience impaired fat digestion and absorption. Bile is essential in the digestive process as it emulsifies fat, turning it into micelles that are easier for enzymes such as pancreatic lipase to chemically digest. Without proper flow of bile due to an obstruction, fat digestion is greatly hindered, which leads to difficulty in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins and can result in diarrhea and fatty stools (steatorrhea). Additionally, metabolites such as bile acids and cholesterol may not be excreted properly, causing potential systemic effects.
A blocked bile duct will affect the patient's digestion of food by impairing fat digestion and absorption (option A). When a gallstone blocks the bile duct, the bile pigment, bilirubin, cannot be excreted. This causes the bile to back up into the liver and be passed via blood, resulting in jaundice. Without sufficient bile, the digestion and absorption of fats are impaired. Bile plays a crucial role in emulsifying fat globules into smaller particles that can be chemically digested by the enzyme lipase.