Abdomen : Case 6

History :  A 52-year-old male with abdominal pain.

What is the abnormality?

A. Negative study
B. Renal stone
C. Calcified adrenal gland
D. Calcified pancreas

D. Calcified pancreas

Calcified pancreas

Pancreatic calcification is a feature of chronic pancreatitis.

• Chronic pancreatitis : Soft tissue calcification which follows the anatomical position of the pancreas

Chronic pancreatitis :

• Represents the end result of a continuous, prolonged, inflammatory and fibrosing process that affects the pancreas
• Resulting in irreversible morphologic changes and permanent endocrine and exocrine pancreatic dysfunction
• Most common cause : Excessive alcohol consumption

Predisposing factors :

The major risk factors for development of chronic pancreatitis may be categorised according to the TIGAR-O system:

• T: Toxic-metabolic (e.g. alcohol)
• I: Idiopathic
• G: Genetic
• A: Autoimmune
• R: Recurrent 
• O: Obstructive (e.g. choledocholithiasis, pancreatic head tumor)