Serum values of amylase and pancreatic lipase in healthy mature dogs and dogs with experimental pancreatitis.

Serum values of amylase and pancreatic lipase were determined by the iodometric and the turbidimetric methods, respectively, in 44 mature healthy dogs and in 8 dogs with experimentally induced pancreatitis (plus 1 sham-operated control). Serum value of amylase in mature healthy dogs varied from 250 to 1,500 Caraway units/dl and that of pancreatic lipase varied from 0 to 50 IU/L. Maximal serum values of amylase and pancreatic lipase in the dogs with experimentally induced pancreatitis varied from 4,540 to 14,000 Caraway units/dl and 325 to 810 IU/L, respectively. Following pancreatic damage, serum values of amylase and pancreatic lipase increased rapidly in the 8 dogs and ran parallel to each other in 6 of the 8 dogs studied. However, the serum value of amylase returned to within normal range earlier than the serum value of pancreatic lipase in 2 dogs; the reverse was true in 2 other dogs.