Histological variations of the duodenal mucosa in chronic human pancreatitis.
From 16 volunteers with chronic pancreatitis and 36 healthy subjects duodenal biopsies were taken 15--20 cm beyond the papilla of Vater. Several morphometric parameters were calculated. The main results show: a significant decrease of villous area and height but not of the number of intestinal villi; a significant increase of Paneth cells; and a slight decrease in the number of glandular mitoses. This study suggests in man, a possible relationship between exocrine pancreatic secretion and the intestinal mucosa and a trophic action of pancreatic juice on the proliferation and the differentiation of the intestinal mucosa.
D001706:Biopsy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004386:Duodenum / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D008871:Microvilli / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values