Pancreatic Conditions

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and close to the duodenum — the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes digestive juices, or enzymes, into the duodenum through a tube called the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes join with bile — a liquid produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder — to digest food.