Pancreatic Diseases (Print Version)

The pancreas is a gland behind your stomach and in front of your spine. It produces juices that help break down food and hormones that help control blood sugar levels. Problems with the pancreas can lead to many health problems. These include

Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas: This happens when digestive enzymes start digesting the pancreas itself
Pancreatic cancer
Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which thick, sticky mucus can also block tubes in your pancreas

The pancreas also plays a role in diabetes. In type I diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body's immune system has attacked them. In type II diabetes, the pancreas loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals.

Overviews

Diseases of the Pancreas(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/pancreatic_diseases.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Amylase Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/amylase/test.html
ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ercp/
Lipase Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/lipase/test.html
Pancreatic Insufficiency(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/pancreatic_insuf-2.html
Trypsin Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/trypsin/test.html
Trypsinogen Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/trypsinogen/test.html

Nutrition

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Nutrition(National Pancreas Foundation) - http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/cgi/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=faq%2edb&command=viewone&id=5&op=t
Hydration and Chronic Pancreatitis(National Pancreas Foundation) - http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/cgi/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=learn_pancreatitis%2edb&command=viewone&id=3&op=t
Pancreatic Diseases: Recipes(National Pancreas Foundation) - http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/live/recipes.shtml

Specific Conditions

Hyperinsulinemia: Is It Diabetes?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hyperinsulinemia/HQ00896/METHOD=print
JAMA Patient Page: Pancreatitis(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/299/13/1630.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/299/13/1630/DC1/1
Pancreatic Cysts(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pancreatic-cysts/DS00731/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec09/ch131/ch131l.html
Pancreatitis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pancreatitis/
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/zollinger/
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/zollinger-ellison-syndrome/DS00461/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Tutorials

Pancreatitis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/pancreatitis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/pancreatitisspanish/htm/index.htm

Videos

Endoscopic Ultrasound Procedure with Needle Biopsy(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 3/22/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=422

Anatomy/Physiology

Atlas of the Body: The Endocrine System(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZW5TZ46JC&sub_cat=514
What Is the Pancreas?(Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Pathology) - http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/BasicOverview1.php?area=ba

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Pancreatic Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Pancreatic+Diseases%22

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: Shwachman-Diamond syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=shwachmandiamondsyndrome
Hereditary Pancreatitis(National Pancreas Foundation) - http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/cgi/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=learn_genetics%2edb&command=viewone&id=2&op=t

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Diffusion-weighted imaging in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18806153&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Planned early discharge-elective surgical readmission pathway for patients with gallstone... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18794429&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: The effect of age on short-term outcomes after pancreatic resection:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18791366&tool=MedlinePlus
Pancreatic Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=pancreatic+diseases[majr]+OR+cholangiopancreatography,endoscopic+retrograde[majr:noexp]+OR+cholangiopancreatography,magnetic+resonance[majr:noexp]+NOT+(pancreatic+neoplasms[mh]+OR+cystic+fibrosis[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

pancreas - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=pancreas

Directories

AACE Physician Finder(American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) - http://www.aace.com/resources/memsearch.php
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: Find a Doctor(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) - http://www.asge.org/Apps/FindADoctor/search.aspx

Organizations

American Gastroenterological Association - http://www.gastro.org/
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
National Pancreas Foundation - http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/
Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Foundation - http://www.shwachman-diamond.org/

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Cystic Fibrosis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cysticfibrosis.html
Pancreas Transplantation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pancreastransplantation.html
Pancreatic Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pancreaticcancer.html
Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
Endocrine System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/endocrinesystem.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Pancreatic Diseases is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/