Tags: Disease.
Hereditary Pancreatitis (HP) is an inflammation of the pancreas attributed to genetic causes. It was first described in 1952 by Comfort and Steinberg but it was not until 1996 that Whitcomb et al isolated the first responsible mutation in the cationic trypsinogen gene (PRSS1) on the long arm of chromosome seven (7q35). The term hereditary pancreatitis is used when a genetic defect is identified and familial pancreatitis used when it is not.