Treatments and solutions designed to bring you relief.
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system that resides deep in the abdomen. It serves an "endocrine" role, relating to the secretion of insulin and helping control blood sugar levels and metabolism within the body, and an "exocrine" role, relating to the secretion of enzymes involved in digesting substances from outside of the body.
Inflammation of the pancreas is known as pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is most often associated with gallstones or alcohol use, although a variety of other factors may lead to pancreatitis. In pancreatitis, enzymes of the exocrine pancreas damage the structure and tissue of the pancreas. Pancreatitis is likely to cause intense pain in the central abdomen that often radiates to the back, and may be associated with jaundice. Other complications include recurrent pancreatitis and the development of pancreatic pseudocysts—collections of pancreatic secretions that have been walled off by scar tissue. These may cause pain, become infected, rupture and bleed, block the bile duct and cause jaundice.