[The contribution of ERCP to the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis].

A survey is given of the present state of the ERCP in the diagnostics of the chronic pancreatitis. The ERCP is not suited for the proof of early changes in the chronic pancreatitis; it does not allow an exclusion diagnosis. The value of the ERCP in the chronic pancreatitis consists in the fact to render the indication to operation by the proof changes which should be operated on, or to precise it, respectively, and to prevent unnecessary test laparotomies. For this reason the ERCP is indicated above all in the ascertained chronically relapsing pancreatitis and in the persistence of symptoms after an acute inflammatory attack. The most comprehensive information about the morphologic state of the pancreas is got by the combination of the ERCP with methods which reflect the size and the external form of the organ and give evidence concerning the structural changes (sonography, computer tomography).