ABSTRACT
Diseases of the pancreas can affect the exocrine pancreas, the endocrine pancreas, or both. Pancreatic disease is infrequently described in birds but as our ability to diagnose disease improves, the incidence of diagnosed disease is rising. Pancreatic insufficiency (an inability to digest food properly) may be caused by congenital pancreatic atrophy, prolonged calorific deficiency, or end-stage chronic pancreatic disease with loss of exocrine tissue. The loss of exocrine pancreatic tissue results in maldigestion, particularly of fatty foods and starch. Undigested fats and starch account for steatorrhoea (seen as pale, bulky and often malodourous faeces) and weight loss. Diagnosis is based in clinical signs and pancreatic biopsy. A ventral midline coeliotomy is performed and the duodenal loop exteriorised. The dorsal and ventral lobes of the pancreas can be seen within the duodenal lobe. The incidence of primary pancreatitis in birds is a matter for some discussion. However, pancreatitis secondary to other disease processes is probably underdiagnosed in avian medicine.
