[Morphologic and functional changes in the pancreas following acute necrotizing pancreatitis]

Acute necrotizing pancreatitis according to the presented results leads to definite endo- and/or exocrine functional loss in 57% of the patients (n = 21, pancreatic necrosis ascertained by laparotomy) evaluated by orale glucose tolerance test, secretin-ceruletide-test and fluorescein-dilaurate-test. Morphological alterations developed in 76% of patients, predominantly cicatricial ductal lesions shown by ERCP. The finding of a normal pancreatic function after extended necrosis in 43% of the patients can be explained by the enormous functional reserve of the pancreatic gland.