10/20- Pathology of Endocrine/Exocrine Pancreas Flashcards
(41 cards)
She’s going for concepts not tiny facts; histo pictures from this lecture not tested (?)
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Describe relationship of anatomy to other abdominal organs
- Head within C loop of the duodenum
- Tail going out toward the spleen

What provides major blood supply to pancreas?
- Hepatic a of celiac trunk
- Superior mesenteric a

Is the pancreas (grossly) more endocrine or exocrine?
More exocrine cells (acinar)

Describe basic embryology of pancreas
Ventral and dorsal bud fuse to form the pancreas
Describe ductal system of pancreas
- Major pancreatic duct enters at major duodenal papilla (typically with common bile duct)
- Accessory pancreatic duct

What is pancreas divisum?
- Developmental anomaly with failure of fusion of ducts of Wirsung and Santorini
- Main part of pancreas drained by duct of Santorini -> minor papilla
- Posterior-inferior head and uncinate drained by duct of Wirsung->major papilla after joining CBD
- Small size of minor papilla predisposes to pancreatitis
What is acute pancreatitis?
- Symptoms
- Prognosis
Symptoms
- Sudden severe mid-epigastric pain radiating to the back, sometimes to chest, flanks, lower abdomen
- May present as acute abdomen
Most recover
Prognosis/Progression:
- 25% severe with complications which may include:
- Infection
- Shock
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Acute renal failure (ATN)
- Death
What are the most common causes of acute pancreatitis?
- GET SMASHED (other lecture)*
- Gallstones, Ethanol, Trauma, Steroids, Mumps/Infxns, Autoimmune (IgG4), Scorpion sting, ERCP post op, Drugs (esp sulfas)*
This lecture: mostly obstruction and alcohol.
Obstruction
- Gallstones (choledocholithiasis): mostly the small ones
- Periampullary or pancreatic mass
- Pancreas divisum with relative stenosis of minor papilla
- Hypertrophic sphincter of Oddi
- Parasites
Alcohol
Metabolic
- Hyperlipidemia
- Hypercalcemia
Drugs
- Azathioprine
- 6MP
- Estrogens
Mechanical
- Trauma
- Iatrogenic: ERCP, sphincterotomy, surgery
Vascular/ischemia
- Shock
- Thromboemboli: atherosclerotic or vasculitis
Infection
- Mumps
- Coxsackievirus
- Mycoplasma
AIDS
- Infxn: HIV, CMV, Crypto, Toxo, Mycobacterium
- Drugs: HAART, pentamidine, Bactrim
Penetrating peptic ulcer
Idiopathic
Hereditary

What are some causes of hereditary pancreatitis?
- Germline mutations, most resulting in increased or sustained activity of trypsin
- PRSS1
- SPINK
- CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator); not associated with clinical CF
What is the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis?
- Duct obstruction
- Acinar cell injury
- Deranged IC transport of pancreatic proenzymes to lysosomes
All 3 mechanisms -> enzyme activation and acinar injury.
Activated enzymes result in:
- Interstitial inflammation and edema
- Proteolysis (proteases)
- Fat necrosis (lipases, phospolipases)
- Vascular damage (elastases)
- Activation of prekallikrein -> coagulation cascade
What are some of the pancreatic enzymes? (recognize)
- Trypsin
- Chymotrypsin
- Elastase
- Amylase
- Lipase
- Phospholipase
- Carboxypeptidase
- Nuclease
- Kallikrein
How to diagnose acute pancreatitis?
- History/physical
- Serum amylase (best early)
- Serum lipase (high by 72 hrs)
- US for exam of biliary tract
- CT scan, MRI
- ERCP, MRCP
What are complications of acute pancreatitis?
- Necrosis: sterile or infected tissue
- Abscess
- Peritonitis
- Pseudocysts
- Systemic
- Multisystem organ failure
- Shock
- Respiratory failure
- Renal failure
- Death
What is the typical presentation of chronic pancreatitis?
No typical presentation; varies
- Pain: repeated or persistent
- May be silent until develop pancreatic insufficiency
- May have mild jaundice
- Late:
- Weight loss
- Steatorrhea
- DM
- Pseudocysts
What are causes of chronic pancreatitis?
- Other lecture- I ACT SAD*
- Idiopathic, Alcoholism, CF/Genetic factors, Tropical Pancreatitis, Smoking, Autoimmune, Duct obstruction*
Here:
- Alcoholism (#1 cause)
- Duct obstruction by stones, neoplasms
- Hyperlipidemia, hyperCa
- Pancreas divisum
- Hereditary: germline mutations in PRSS1, SPINK 1 and CFTR genes
- Autoimmune
- Idiopathic
Chronic pancreatitis is associated with what?
40% lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer
Describe autoimmune cause of chronic pancreatitis
- Treatment
- Increased IgG4 plasma cells
- Increased serum IgG4
- May mimic pancreatic cancer clinically and radiographically
- Responsive to steroids

What conditions may lead to pancreatic pseudocyts?
- Acute pancreatitis
- Chronic pancreatitis
- Trauma
- Cancer (rare)

Pancreatic neoplasms may affect what parts of the pancreas?
- Exocrine parts
- Endocrine parts
- Ampulla of Vater and distal common bile duct
What are cystic pancreatic neoplasms?
- Serous cystadenoma, most microcystic
- Mucinous cystic neoplasm
- Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm
- Solid pseudopapillary tumor
- Cystic pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm
Describe serous cystadenoma
- Composition
- Malignant vs. benign
- Treatment
- Most microcystic (microcystic adenoma)
- Occasionally oligocystic
- Glycogen-rich
- Almost all serous cystic neoplasms of pancreas are benign
- Do not need to resect unless causing obstruction, bleeding or other problem

Describe mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN)
- Treatment
Subclassified as MCN with
- low or intermediate grade dysplasia
- high grade dysplasia
- associated invasive carcinoma
Should be completely resected because may harbor malignancy or may undergo malignant transformation

Describe Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)
- Location
- Epidemiology
- Occurs in men and women
- May involve main pancreatic duct or branch of pancreatic duct
- Most occur in head of pancreas
- May involve entire pancreas
- Visible duct distended by mucin






