title: Pancreas mobile.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Up to now, little is known about the mobility of the pancreas due to changes in posture. The present study was conducted to assess the position of the pancreas in the left recumbent posture (endoscopy posture), the pancreatic mobility during changes of the posture from supine to endoscopy posture and also evaluates the possible factors associated with pancreatic mobility.
  
  
  METHODS
  199 patients with (68) or without chronic pancreatitis were examined using conventional gray-scale transabdominal ultrasound to image the position and mobility of the pancreatic head with reference to the vertebral spine and aorta in the supine and left recumbent position. In a subgroup of 75 consecutive healthy subjects regarding the pancreas, the exact moving distance of the central line of the pancreatic head from the supine to left recumbent position was obtained regarding the central line of the spine as the reference. Besides the 199 patients, 50 patients without pancreatic pathology were evaluated by endoscopic ultrasound with radial transducers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On conventional ultrasound in supine (left lateral) position the percentage of patients with right-aortal, pre-aortal, left-aortal pancreatic head were 91.0 % (49 %), 8.0 % (31 %) and 1.0 % (20 %), respectively. Significant movement of the pancreatic head in relation to the aorta was observed in 48 % of patients. The moving distance was correlated to the age, sex and the presence of chronic pancreatitis. Pancreas mobility was more pronounced in young healthy females. No association was found between the moving distance and the body mass index (BMI) and splenic size. On endoscopic ultrasound, the orientation of the pancreas with a view of more (or equal) than 180o was observed in 48 % and less than 180o in 52 % of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pancreas mobile is a common phenomenon (about 50 %) which has not often been recognized in daily routine. This phenomenon is more likely in healthy young females. This knowledge might be of importance for improved interpretation of endoscopic ultrasound imaging examinations in patients with and without peripancreatic infiltration.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik 2, Caritas-Krankenhaus, Bad Mergentheim.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Molo
authors.forename: X W
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pirri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ignee
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hocke
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schreiber-Dietrich
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Dietrich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D010179:Pancreas / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult