| Define: | INFLAMMATION of the PANCREAS. Pancreatitis is classified as acute unless there are computed tomographic or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographic findings of CHRONIC PANCREATITIS (International Symposium on Acute Pancreatitis, Atlanta, 1992). The two most common forms of acute pancreatitis are ALCOHOLIC PANCREATITIS and gallstone pancreatitis. | A pancreatitis that is characterized by inflammation of the pancreas over a short period of time and has symptoms of severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and shock. |