Acute pancreatitis--the correlation between pathogenesis and histological findings at autopsy.

Acute pancreatitis is a commonly encountered acute inflammatory condition which involves the pancreas. It has been suggested that the distribution of necrosis and inflammation seen histologically depends on whether the pancreatitis occurs as a result of ductal obstruction or following an interruption in the supply of blood to the pancreas. A histological review of 27 pancreata removed at post-mortem from patients dying with acute pancreatitis confirms that the distribution of inflammation seen in the pancreas is characteristic of the pathogenic mechanisms giving rise to the disease. The findings of experimental and autopsy series are reviewed and provide support for the hypothesis.