Ductal changes in chronic calcifying pancreatitis

Conclusion

In early stages irregularity and diversity of the lesions are most essential features. This change is certainly not the result of the obstruction of principal duct but attributable to local obstruction of small ducts, resulting in stagnation, dilatation, fibrosis, cystic accumulation and plugs or calculi. The incidence of epithelial metaplasia was too low to be the cause of local obstruction. The most probable cause is mucoprotein plugs stenosing the smaller ducts and later accumulated in principal duct thus causing the stenosis and dilatation of the principal duct. In later stage the lesions become diffuse by hyperpressure of principal duct.