Relationship between papillary fibrosis and patency of the accessory pancreatic duct.

A study of structure and function of the minor duodenal papilla was carried out on 36 autopsy specimens of the human duodenopancreas. An original perfusion method with manometric control was developed for testing the minor papilla patency, i.e. resistency to intraductal pressure. According to this test, all the specimens were classified as: Type I: non-patent (45%); Type II: patent under normal, physiological pressure (36%); and Type III: patent under increased pressure (19%). After that, the whole minor papilla specimens underwent longitudinal sectioning with HE staining. Light microscopy showed various degrees of fibrosis (mild-45%, moderate-29%, and severe-26%). The correlation between the fibrosis and the patency was significant: papillae with lower degrees of fibrosis were more patent and vice versa. Further, the pancreatic tissue in the Santorini segment of the pancreatic head followed the same manner. No apparent sphincter of the minor papilla was found in any of the specimens analyzed.