Abstract
Pancreata were obtained from 130 anatomical and surgical specimens: 65 after excess potation (80g/day ethanol, more than 10 years), 48 from cholelithiasis patients, and 17 pancreata with pancreatic head cancer. These were prepared for light microscope, electron microscope, and histometric examination. The point counting method was used. From histometric results, the amount of fiber and fat in the pancreas was classified as type O, I, II, or III from slight to severe ; and the dominant loci of fiber and fat were classified as type A, AB, or B depending on intralobule, intra-interlobule, or interlobule dominance. When the basic structure was completely destroyed by severe fibrosis or adiposis, the pancreata were classified only as type III, since they could not be classified by location. Pancreata of potators were characteristically associated with protein plug (23.1 %) ; dilation of acinal lumen, proliferation of centroacinal cells and small ducts (63.1 %) ; and dominantly type II A (33.8 %) or type I A (20 %) of intra lobular fibrosis. In type I A fibrosis, which was a presumed early stage of alcoholic fibrosis, periductal fibrosis with fibroblast-like cells, perivascular fibrosis with pericyte-like cells, and periachinal fibrosis with fat-storing cell-like mesenchymal cells were observed by electron microscope. Pancreata from potators with pancreatolithiasis showed parenchymal atrophy with marked interlobular fibrosis. In these cases pancreatic fibrosis seemed to be due to granulation tissue. Compared to those of potators, the pancreata of patients with cholelithiasis revealed more dominant adiposis and acute inflammatory foci with granulation tissue that seemed to be related to fibrosis. In patients with pancreatic head cancer, pancreata were characterized by dominant interlobular fibrosis that seemed to be produced by massive granulation tissue. Pancreatic adiposis was more dominant in interlobular than in intralobular sites in most patients, and it seemed that extralobular fatty tissue was infiltrating into pancreatic lobules.
