Sodium taurocholate pancreatitis in the rat is a frequently used experimental model for evaluating therapeutical regimes in this disease. It is, however, uncertain when treatment should be started, as the early phase of this experimental model and thus the time when the pancreatitis really develops is unknown. Serum and pancreatic enzymes, as well as pancreatic morphology, were therefore studied 5, 30, and 60 min after induction of sodium taurocholate pancreatitis. It was found that increase in serum enzymes and decrease in pancreatic enzymes and morphological changes characteristic for acute pancreatitis develop as early as 5 and 30 min after induction of pancreatitis. Thus, therapy in this model may be started shortly after induction of acute pancreatitis.

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Buprenorphine (15 micrograms/kg b.wt. per hour) distinctly reduced pain sensitivity in acute 3% sodium-taurocholate pancreatitis in male Wistar rats without interfering with the course of the disease. This was seen by assessment of enzyme elevation in serum and ascites and by histological evaluation of the pancreas. Buprenorphine is therefore recommended for animal experiments to study the effect of therapeutic principles in acute pancreatitis.

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