pancreatic fibrosis

7.5

A build up of scar tissue in the pancreas that makes it work less well

noun
/ˌpæŋkriˈætɪk faɪˈbroʊsɪs/

Specialized

: fibrosis pancreática

Chronic pancreatic fibrosis can lead to digestive problems over time.

Examples

The symptoms of pancreatic fibrosis can be quite severe.
Doctors diagnosed her with pancreatic fibrosis last month.
A biopsy confirmed the patient was suffering from pancreatic fibrosis.
Researchers are studying genetic factors that increase the risk of pancreatic fibrosis.
A biopsy confirmed the patient was suffering from pancreatic fibrosis.
Chronic pancreatic fibrosis can lead to digestive problems over time.
Doctors diagnosed her with pancreatic fibrosis last month.

Surface Forms

pancreatic fibrosis singular

pancreatic fibroses plural

Morphology

pancreatic + fibrosis

The meaning is directly compositional: 'pancreatic' = relating to the pancreas and 'fibrosis' = excess fibrous tissue, so the phrase denotes fibrosis occurring in the pancreas. This noun + noun/adjective medical naming pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the overall meaning.

Etymology

Pancreatic fibrosis comes from two parts: pancreatic (about the pancreas, the small organ that helps digestion) and fibrosis (the build-up of hard 'scar' tissue). The image is a pancreas filled with stiff, scar-like tissue so it cannot work well, which is why the term means 'scar tissue in the pancreas' and explains the loss of pancreatic function.