Etiology of Acute Pancreatitis

Acute Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition of the pancreas which is characterized by abdominal pain and elevated pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Acute pancreatitis is one of the leading gastrointestinal cause of hospitalization in the United States. Etiology of acute pancreatitis is diverse with many causes attributed to it. Alcohol abuse and gallstones are the leading causes of acute pancreatitis. We a carried a literature search for etiology of acute pancreatitis using the online databases of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar. We reviewed the pertinent articles about acute pancreatitis and its etiology. The review is an attempt to provide a better understanding of the possible various etiologic causes of acute pancreatitis.