We herein report a case of anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas arising in an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). A 68-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of fatigue. Computed tomography revealed an irregular mass in the pancreatic head, which displayed high-signal intensity on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Accordingly, the patient was d...

Iopamidol is an iodinated nonionic monomer and low-osmolar contrast medum (LOCM) used almost during each endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for visualization of either or both primary pancreatic or biliary ducts. During ERCP, the pancreas is exposed to chemical, hydrostatic or physical injury caused by injection of iopamidol solutions through the cannulated Vater ampulla. The...

A santorinicele is defined as a focal cystic dilatation of the terminal portion of the dorsal pancreatic duct at the minor papilla. Most cases reported previously were associated with pancreas divisum and a santorinicele without pancreas divisum is known to be rare. We recently experienced a typical case of a santorinicele without pancreas divisum in a 67-yr-old woman with abdominal pain and he...

Introduction:Pancreatic divisum (PD) is a condition that develops if the embryonic fusion of the dorsal and the ventral pancreas buds at the gestational age of 6 weeks is incomplete. The failure of fusion between these two pancreatic ducts results in a short and narrow duct in the head of the pancreas that drains through the major papilla (ventral duct) and a much longer duct that drains most o...

Like other forms of laparoscopic surgery, laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (Lap-PD) is a minimally invasive procedure that can greatly reduce bleeding during surgery. We performed Lap-PD for a case of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. To remove the resected tissue from the body, we made a small incision directly above the line of transection of the distal pancreas (the cut stump). Th...

Anatomical variations or anomalies of the pancreatic ducts are important in the planning and performance of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and surgical procedures of the pancreas. Normal pancreatic duct anatomy occurs in approximately 94.3% of cases, and multiple variations have been described for the remaining 5.7%. The purpose of this study was to review the literature ...

Exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function was studied in the rat after occlusion of the pancreatic ducts with acrylate or prolamine, respectively. After 5 months the effect of these procedures was a clear-cut exocrine insufficiency as evidenced by reduced enzyme activities in pancreatic tissue and in intestinal content, while the endocrine function was not impaired. The insulin secretory respo...

CONTEXT Heterotopic pancreatic tissue is defined as pancreatic tissue outside the boundaries of the pancreas that has neither anatomic nor vascular continuity with the pancreas. Heterotopic pancreatic tissue in the gallbladder is uncommon and has rarely been reported to cause symptoms. We report a case of heterotopic pancreatic tissue obstructing the gallbladder neck resulting in cholecystitis....

Pancreatic adenocarcinomas are highly invasive cancers for reasons that are currently unclear. Here we sought to determine if the proinvasive integrin alpha6beta4 may be related to pancreatic adenocarcinoma tumor progression. Expression of integrin alpha6beta4 was analyzed via immunohistochemistry for the beta4 subunit in normal pancreas, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) lesions, pa...

BACKGROUND Pancreatic hamartomas are extremely rare and may be misdiagnosed as malignant tumors. We report herein a case of a small, solid-type pancreatic hamartoma. CASE PRESENTATION A 72-year-old female was incidentally detected pancreatic lesion by ultrasonography. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 2.0-cm solid lesion. The main pancreatic duct (MPD) was obstruct...