Preface

Chronic pancreatitis is an irreversible complex disorder of the pancreas characterized by chronic progressive pancreatic inflammation and fibrosis，resulting in the failure of exocrine and endocrine function.Since 1788，when Thomas Cawley first reported a patient with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis whose pancreas was widely calcified，a huge number of studies have been carried out on pancreatitis providing us with a much deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of this debilitating condition.

Chronic Pancreatitis is a concise guide to the clinical diagnosis and management of chronic pancreatitis.It will focus on various key aspects of the condition，such as the etiology，pathogenesis，epidemiology，molecular genetics，diagnosis，endoscopic and surgical treatment，and prognosis.It will also include a series of typical case presentations that together provide a fairly comprehensive synopsis of the disease.This book has been written by more than 30 world-renowned experts，mainly from China，France，Denmark，Germany，India，Italy，Japan，Singapore，the United Kingdom，and the United States.We believe that it will be an ideal reference work not only for researchers but also for the physicians and surgeons who care for patients with acute or chronic pancreatitis.

The magnificent support of the research teams from Changhai Hospital in Shanghai and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale（INSERM）in Brest is gratefully acknowledged.We thank Dr.Wen-Bin Zou for the executive editor's work，and Mr.Bin Hu of Springer for his skillful editing and production work.Finally，we thank our families for their encouragement and understanding while we put this volume together.

Zhao-Shen Li Shanghai，China(https://www.daowen.com)

Zhuan Liao Shanghai，China

Jian-Min Chen Brest，France

Claude Férec Brest，France