The surgeon should take pains to section and study himself the operative specimen after excision for acute pancreatitis, in order to understand the true nature of the lesions, which the most attentive and competent pathological examination cannot describe as vividly as direct examination by the operator. Often he will be surprised to find that the lesions, predominant in the capsule, are less profound and less severe than he had thought at first sight. Findings of this sort, if they were to be confirmed, would put into doubt the principle itself of routine pancreatectomy for acute pancreatitis.