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Acute pancreatitis
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The pancreas is a gland that makes digestive enzymes, substances whose job is to break food apart. They're built to switch on later, once they're outside the organ. In acute pancreatitis those enzymes turn on too early, while they're still stored inside the pancreas, and what they break apart is the tissue of the house they were born in. It's as if a cutting tool switched itself on while still packed in its case.
Acute doesn't mean severe, it means sudden: an episode that starts out of nowhere. And that episode doesn't always hit the same way. It can stay mild and confined to the pancreas, or it can spill past it and seriously damage other parts of the body. Chronic pancreatitis is a different thing: not an episode but something that lasts, and it can leave damage that no longer goes away.
In brief
Acute pancreatitis is sudden inflammation of the pancreas. It can begin when digestive enzymes activate too early, while still inside the organ, and damage pancreatic tissue.
It may be mild and limited to the pancreas, or it may cause severe damage elsewhere in the body, so its severity varies widely.
Acute describes an episode that begins suddenly. Chronic pancreatitis, by contrast, is long-lasting and can leave permanent damage.
Sources (3)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesDefinition & Facts for Pancreatitis
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesA Story of Discovery: Learning How to Prevent Pancreatitis in ChildrenPublished
- American College of GastroenterologyAmerican College of Gastroenterology Guidelines: Management of Acute PancreatitisPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated