RT Book, Section A1 Sonnenday, Christopher J. A2 Hammer, Gary D. A2 McPhee, Stephen J. SR Print(0) ID 1100861575 T1 Disorders of the Exocrine Pancreas T2 Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine, 7e YR 2013 FD 2013 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-180600-8 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1100861575 RD 2024/03/29 AB The pancreas is a gland with both exocrine and endocrine functions. The exocrine pancreas contains acini, which secrete pancreatic juice into the duodenum through the pancreatic ducts (Figure 15–1). Pancreatic juice contains a number of enzymes, some of which are initially secreted as zymogens in an inactive form. Once activated, these enzymes help to digest food and prepare it for absorption in the intestine. Disorders interfering with normal pancreatic enzyme activity (pancreatic insufficiency) cause maldigestion of fat and steatorrhea (fatty stools). Pathology of the exocrine pancreas results from inflammation (acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis), neoplasm (ductal adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and other pancreatic neoplasms), or duct obstruction by stones or abnormally viscid mucus (cystic fibrosis).