Originally Posted by capt_noonie  Uh, are you sure about that? Please see below:
When the pancreas is injured either from disease or from trauma, the production of digestive enzymes decreases, or the enzymes may actually start to digest surrounding organs including the pancreas itself.
"This disease mimics and can be mimicked by almost any acute gastrointestinal disorder as well as a variety of extra-intestinal diseases," says Colin Burrows, BVetMed, Ph.D, MRCVS, professor of medicine, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida. "Severe cases are routinely included in the differential diagnosis." The most common ones are 1) acute gastroenteritis; 2) exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease; 3) intestinal obstruction; 4) peritonitis; and 5) acute renal failure.
Pancreatitis is the disorder that happens when the pancreas becomes inflamed. There are two classification of the disease, chronic and acute.
"Basically, there are differences between chronic and acute," says Dr. Jorg Steiner, DVM, DACZIM, DECZIM, Gastrointestinal Laboratory Professor, Texas A&M, College Station, TX. "The most important, when acute pancreatitis is over, there is no remaining damage to organs. Acute is more commonly severe, and chronic is more commonly mild."
"Pancreatitis can be very serious," says Dr. Mary Labato, DVM, internal medicine, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA. "It can run the gamut from mild with vomiting to life threatening and the cause of rapid death."
"Acute pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas that occurs abruptly with little or no permanent pathologic change," say Dr. Labato. "Acute necrotizing pancreatitis is a life threatening disease that can lead to acute renal failure, pleural effusion, and death. Chronic pancreatitis is a continuing inflammatory disease that is often accompanied by irreversible changes." |