Fat necrosis - a cause of pancreatic parenchymal necrosis?

Acute pancreatic necrosis resulted when oleic acid or olive oil was injected into the pancreatic duct or rats. After injection of droplets of both lipids into the pancreatic interstitial tissue, coagulation-type necrosis of acinar tissue developed adjacent to these droplets. Mono-olein or paraffin oil caused no histological alterations of acinar cells. It is concluded that (1) the deleterious effect of olive oil on the pancreas is mediated through fatty acids released by pancreatic lipase, and (2) fatty acids split off in fat necrosis of acute pancreatitis may damage adjacent pancreatic acinar tissue.