Pancreatitis

DEFINITION
Inflammation of the pancreas
Acute pancreatitis—inflammation of the pancreas that occurs abruptly with little or no permanent pathologic change
Chronic pancreatitis—continuing inflammatory disease that is often accompanied by irreversible morphologic change

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Most defense mechanisms prevent pancreatic autodigestion by the enzymes it secretes.
Under select circumstances, these natural defenses fail; autodigestion occurs when these digestive enzymes are activated within acinar cells.
Local and systemic tissue injury is due to the activity of released pancreatic enzymes and a variety of inflammatory mediators such as kinins, free radicals, and complement factors.