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A model of acute necroto-hemorrhagic pancreatitis was prepared by injecting 5% sodium taurocholate-trypsin solution directly into the pancreatic duct of the rat. Fourty eight hours before the preparation of acute pancreatitis, intraductal injection of 0.1%, 0.2% or 0.4% sodium taurocholate-trypsin solution as mild irritant was able to decrease the mortality to 27%, 17% and 17% respectively. The maximal elevation of the serum amylase concentration in acute pancreatitis was decreased to 43%, 47% and 54%, respectively. Microscopic examination of the pancreatic tissue of the rats which were alive after pretreatment of mild irritants showed that the acute pancreatitis was milder and there was a tendency to change to chronic pancreatitis. Thus, we conclude that there is a phenomenon of adaptive cytoprotection on the exocrine pancreas in rats. The mechanisms of the phenomenon remain to be explored.