Читать книгу Pathy's Principles and Practice of Geriatric Medicine - Группа авторов - Страница 530

The pancreas has considerable functional reserve, so any anatomical changes associated with age have little, if any, effect on pancreatic function. Morphological changes, however, do occur as part of the ageing process. Ectasia of the main pancreatic duct and pancreatic atrophy can sometimes be noted, both of which can cause confusion in the interpretation of cross‐sectional imaging. Ageing may also be associated with impaired pancreatic blood supply due to atherosclerosis, although the implications of this remain unclear.

Pancreatic function studies have been carried out on elderly patients and compared with those on younger patients. The volume of pancreatic secretion falls in the elderly, as do the outputs of lipase, trypsin, and phospholipase.¹ However, there does not appear to be a corresponding fall in fat absorption.