Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries for the ‘Pancreatic Function’ Category

Cystic Fibrosis of the Pancreas

A few words should be said about the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease carried by a recessive gene. Symptoms usually begin in childhood but may not be manifested until adolescence or occasionally not until adulthood. The disease affects the mucous glands of the body but for some reason seems to affect those of […]

Chronic Pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatic insufficiency may occur as a result of pancreatitis or hemochromatosis in adults and in the disease known as cystic fibrosis of the pancreas in children. The diagnosis may be quite difficult, since the disease either represents an end-stage phenomenon with an acute process going on or else may take place slowly and subclinically […]

Acute Pancreatitis

Classic acute pancreatitis is manifested by sudden onset of severe epigastric pain (90%-100% of patients) that may radiate elsewhere, often to the back. There may be vomiting (30%-96%), fever (60%-95%), abdominal distention (70%-80%), and paralytic ileus (50%-80%). Jaundice occasionally is present (8%-30%). Hypotension or shock develops in 30%-40% of cases. In severe and classic disease, […]