[The sectorisation of pancreatic pathology (author's transl)]

The existence of dilatation of the Wirsung duct distal to an isthmic calculus, the marked dilatation of the cephalic portion of the duct contrasting with the sub-normal calibre of the corporeo-caudal duct in a case of pancreatic lithiasis, are all against the pathogenic hypothesis of a retrodilatation proximal to an obstruction, a supposition which is apparently satisfactory but not always confirmed by the facts. Thus duct distension would not seem to be a purely mechanical phenomenon. The confusing topography of sectorial dilatation of the Wirsung duct in chronic pancreatitis may be explained by a process affecting in isolation or predominantly one or another embryonic sector. The paradox of the association of cephalic dilatation of the duct with stenosis of the intrapancreatic common bile duct offers further support for this hypothesis.