This volume is a compendium of the lectures, presentations, and workshops of the International Congress entitled "Facing the Pancreatic Dilemma" and of the 17th Meeting of the Italian Association for the Study of the Pancreas, held in Verona on 16 -19 June 1993. Pancreatology is still a relatively young science. Many pathophysiological aspects of pancreatic disease are as yet obscure, and a fair number of the etio­ pathogenetic mechanisms adduced are no more than hypothetical. We have therefore chosen to compare and contrast in a single volume the various hypo­ theses and interpretations put forward by leading experts in the field. In view of the swift evolution of this branch of medical science, it is sound policy to bear in mind that yesterday's heresies have become today's orthodoxy, and that todays's heresies may well turn out to be accepted orthodoxy in a not too distant future. The various "pancreatic dilemmas" are addressed systematically in these pages, and we believe that the book will prove an invaluable tool for the special­ ist and for any physician dealing with pancreatic disease. The book also represents a tribute by the Verona School of Pancreatology to the memory of Prof. L. A. Scuro, founder of the School and one of the outstanding Italian pioneers of pancreatology.