The glands that make up the human body are classified according to the place where they secrete their products, in this way the differentiation of two groups is allowed: the endocrine glands, which are so called because they secrete their product into the bloodstream, such as It is the thyroid, the adrenal gland, ovaries, testicles, among others; while the exocrine glands are all those that secrete their product outside the bloodstream, such as the gallbladder, sweat glands, salivary glands, among others. In the human body, there is a single gland that meets both conditions called the pancreas, when inflammation occurs it is known as pancreatitis.
The pancreas has an exocrine zone, which is responsible for the secretion of enzymes towards the primary portion of the small intestine (duodenum), in order to allow the total degradation of all foods in order to produce absorption, these enzymes are classified according to the macronutrient to be degraded: pancreatic amylase is responsible for degrading carbohydrates, lipase is responsible for breaking down lipids and trypsin deconfigures proteins. When a patient has pancreatitis, it is because this group of enzymes have been activated within the pancreatic tissue rather than the small intestine, resulting in a breakdown of the pancreas followed by significant damage to this tissue; in other words, there is a self-digestion in the pancreas by the digestive enzymes activated early, normally this is produced by a gallstone (calculus).
The pancreas, liver and gallbladder are connected to each other with the duodenum through a conduit called the "common bile duct", when this small connector is obstructed by stones, the secretion of enzyme-filled pancreatic juice is hindered, thus allowing the activation of these enzymes before reaching the intestine, degrading the pancreatic tissue. The symptoms of pancreatitis are: persistent abdominal pain, gastrointestinal disorders (nausea and vomiting), tachycardia, tachypnea, diaphoresis (excessive sweating), hypotension, jaundice (yellowing of skin and mucosa) due to the high concentration of bile, among others; the way to diagnose this pathologyIt is by means of a physical study, and determining blood amylase and lipase at the laboratory level.
