Essay On Pancreatitis

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Recommended: Basic pathology pancreatitis

What is Pancreatitis? The pancreas is a large gland that is located in the upper abdomen that secretes digestive juices, and releases insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. Pancreatitis is a medical term for inflammation of the pancreas. When the pancreas is inflamed, it can progress to swelling of the gland, and surrounding blood vessels, bleeding, infection, and damage to the gland. It occurs when digestives enzymes start digesting the pancreas itself. Pancreatitis has two types; acute or chronic and either type can be life-threatening and have some serious complications.
What are the causes? Alcohol abuse and gallstones are the two main causes of pancreatitis, accounting for 80% to 90% of all individuals diagnosed with the condition. …show more content…

Some may feel pain but most do not. For those who experience pain, it is usually constant and disabling and it goes away as the condition worsens. This lack of pain is considered as a bad sign because it probably means that the pancreas has stopped working. Other symptoms are related to long-term complications such as inability to produce insulin, inability to digest food, bleeding and liver problems.
Risk Factors Excessive alcohol intake and gallstones are the major risk factors for pancreatitis. Other risk factors include a family history of pancreatitis, high levels of fat in the blood, cigarette smoking, certain inherited disease such as cystic fibrosis and taking certain medications.
Diagnosis
When a health care professional identifies symptoms of pancreatitis, specific questions are asked about the person’s symptoms, lifestyle and habits, and medical and surgical history. These types of questions will help to rule out some conditions and make the correct diagnosis. In most cases, however, laboratory tests are needed. The tests will determine the function of several body systems including pancreas, liver and kidney functions, signs of infections, blood cell counts, and blood sugar, electrolyte levels and calcium level. Results of the blood tests may be inadequate if the pancreas is still making digestive enzymes and

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