The pancreas of the canine is V-shaped, with both left and right lobes narrow and long, the two lobes being connected at an acute angle posterior to the pylorus, the junction being the body of the pancreas. The left lobe extends posteriorly to the left between the visceral surface of the stomach and the transverse colon, reaching the anterior end of the left kidney; the right lobe extends posteriorly on the dorsal side of the descending part of the duodenum, on the caudal lobe of the liver, and on the posterior end of the right kidney, often terminating a short distance posterior to the right kidney.
Most natural cases are edematous pancreatitis, while experimental cases are acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. The cause may be related to the following factors,the experimental onset is acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis,The etiology may be related to the following factors
1. Obesity
Acute pancreatitis occurs in obese dogs, and the condition of experimental obese dogs is more serious than that of thin dogs. Excess fat in the food is prone to "nutritional deficiency", while high-fat food can also change the content of pancreatic intracellular enzymes. Therefore, high-fat food and nutritional status become an important factor in triggering acute pancreatitis.
2. Hyperlipidaemia
Hyperlipidaemia is often associated with acute pancreatitis in dogs. Conversely, acute pancreatitis can induce hyperlipidaemia and alter plasma proteases. Fat-rich foods can produce significant bait lipaemia (chylomicronemia) with subsequent pancreatitis.
3. Bile Duct Diseases
Since the bile ducts and the lymphatic vessels in the interstitium of the pancreas communicate with each other, bile duct diseases can spread to the pancreas through the lymphatic vessels and develop.
4. Infectious diseases
When certain infectious diseases occur in dogs and cats, pancreatitis becomes one of the necessary diseases, such as feline toxoplasmosis and feline infectious peritonitis, which can damage the liver and induce pancreatitis. Therefore, liver disease or pancreatitis in cats may be a sign of toxoplasmosis or feline infectious peritonitis.
5. Duodenal fluid reflux
Reflux of duodenal fluid or bile into the pancreatic ducts and pancreatic interstitium may be a cause of acute pancreatitis when it occurs for some reason. Bile contains haemolysed lecithin and unconjugated bile salts, which are toxic to the pancreas.
6. Drugs
Many drugs can induce the disease. Commonly used drugs in veterinary medicine include thiazide diuretics, thiazopurine, mentholase and tetracycline. Cholinesterase inhibitors and cholinergic downregulators can also induce pancreatitis.
7. Other factors
Pancreatic trauma, automobile accidents, fall from height and surgical procedures lead to pancreatic trauma and induce pancreatitis.
Testing Methods
Blood tests in acute pancreatitis show an increase in the total number of leukocytes, an increase in the proportion of neutrophils, an increase in serum amylase and lipase activity, and an increase in blood urea nitrogen. Urine contains protein and tubular patterns. Severe pancreatitis may spread to surrounding organs and form ascites, which contains amylase. Determination of amylase in ascites is diagnostic of pancreatitis. Abdominal ultrasonography is more specific compared to abdominal radiology. However, an enlarged pancreas alone does not confirm the diagnosis of pancreatitis, as pancreatic oedema can also be seen in portal hypertension or hypoalbuminaemia. In a study of 70 dogs with severe pancreatitis, the sensitivity of abdominal ultrasound was 68 per cent. ITGEN has developed a rapid test card that can detect in a short time whether the level of pancreatic lipase in dogs is healthy.
Therapeutic Regimen:
1. Acute pancreatitis
Firstly fasting should be done to prevent food from stimulating pancreatic secretion. Atropine can also be given to inhibit its secretion. Intravenous glucose and complex amino acids should be given during fasting to maintain nutrition and regulate acid-base balance and other symptomatic treatments. Analgesics and dexamethasone are given when necessary. To control infection, penicillin, kanamycin, ampicillin, cephalosporin and quinolones can be used.
2. Chronic pancreatitis
Pancreatic lesions are difficult to recover, mainly by drugs to maintain its function. Food therapy and supplementation of pancreatic enzyme deficiency are commonly used to reduce clinical symptoms.
①Food therapy: eat small meals, feed at least 3 times a day, give low fat, easy to digest food.
② Changing digestive enzyme therapy: pancreatic enzyme preparation or pancreatic powder preparation is mixed in food and fed for several days, and the feeding amount is decided according to the type of food, daily amount and the degree of exocrine function disorder. Meanwhile, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B, folic acid and calcium can be given. The prognosis of diabetes mellitus is poor.
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| Mild | Moderate to severe | |
| Common Clinical Symptoms | Depression，Loss of appetite，Nausea (excessive salivation, lip licking) Vomiting， Behavioral response to abdominal pain (positions to relieve abdominal pain) | Depression，Loss of appetite， Vomiting (may vomit blood)， Behavioral response to abdominal pain (position to relieve abdominal pain) |
| Other clinical symptoms | Diarrhoea (may be colonic or small bowel) | Blood in stool/black faeces syndrome, jaundice, respiratory distress, shock |
| Common Physical Findings | Pain is limited to the right anterior abdomen， Elevated body temperature， Dehydration | Abdominal pain limited to the right anterior abdomen or diffuse abdominal pain， Elevated or decreased body ，temperature， Dehydration，Mucosal congestion， Tachycardia, shortness of breath |
| Other physical findings | Weakness | Jaundice， fluid in the abdominal cavity， Swellings affecting the area around the pancreas (adhesions occurring in the inflamed pancreas)， Bruising or bruising， Arrhythmia， Tongue inflammation, tongue ulcers |