Pancreatitis

When the pancreas digests itself · Week 14
The pancreas makes powerful digestive enzymes. They are meant to stay switched off until they reach the gut. In pancreatitis they switch on too early, inside the pancreas, and it starts digesting itself. Click through normal, acute, and chronic.

The pancreas & its enzymes

Enzymes should ride down the duct to the duodenum and turn on only there. Watch where they switch on.
Pick a state to begin.
Pick a statenormal · acute · chronic

What's happening

♂ Men: most often alcohol use disorder
♀ Women: most often biliary disease, which means gallstones
The cardinal symptom is severe pain high in the belly that spreads to the back. Nausea and vomiting come with it, and both are worse after meals, since eating tells the pancreas to send out more enzymes. Chronic pancreatitis wrecks both of its jobs. The exocrine job makes enzymes, so losing it means poor nutrient uptake. The endocrine job makes insulin, so losing it means diabetes.