Third Hospitalization At age 41, Vincent entered the hospital with complaints of

Question

Third Hospitalization

At age 41, Vincent entered the hospital with complaints of a high fever, nausea, loss of appetite, and a dull, continual pain in the left side of the back. In addition, he had diarrhea of a particularly foul odor and yellow color . He had also lost 15 pounds over the last month and a half. Unfortunately, the page in the chart is torn, so you cannot read the diagnosis! But your memory of an anatomy and physiology course you took in college helps you figure out the possible causes of Vincent's problem.

Questions:

1. Excessive exposure to alcohol can cause inflammation of certain digestive organs, such as the stomach. Inflammation of which organ(s) might be causing Vincent's back pain?

2. Based upon the location of this pain, would you guess that the organ in question is a retroperitoneal organ or an organ attached to the abdominal wall by a broad sheet of mesentery? Explain your answer.

3. Based upon the function of the organ in question, what is causing the "steatorrhea" and weight loss?

Explanation / Answer

Ans

1) Pancreas

Inflammation of pancreas causes dull continual pain in the left side of back especially pancreatic cancer

2) Yes

Pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ lining outside the peritoneum.

Other retroperitoneal organs are kidneys, suprarenal glands, sigmoid colon etc.

3) Exocrine function

The exocrine function of pancreas causes steatorrhea and weight loss due to fat malabsorption.

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