Laparoscopic measurement of pancreatic blood flow

Laparoscopy is a morphological examination and is employed in the examination of the liver and other visceral organs. Further, as a result of recent remarkable progress in endoscopy it has become possible to examine not only the intraperitoneal organs but also the pancreas, a retroperitoneal organ, by means of laparoscopy. With a view to expanding the application of laparoscopy, we attempted, despite many difficulties, to measure the pancreatic blood flow in man, using the hydrogen gas clearance method. The mean pancreatic blood flow for persons with a normal pancreas was 87.8 +/- 20.6 ml/min/100 g, and the mean value for patients with chronic pancreatitis was 58.0 +/- 33.3 ml/mn/100 g. Laparoscopy has been used merely as a means of morphological examination, but should also be turned to account in the investigation of various intraperitoneal organs for physiological function.