TRYPSIN

This test measures levels of trypsin in your blood to see if you have pancreatitis.

Your pancreas is an organ in your belly that lies behind your stomach. One of its jobs is to make enzymes that go into your small intestine to help you digest foods. The pancreas can become inflamed (pancreatitis). This can happen suddenly (acute pancreatitis), or stay inflamed over a longer time (chronic pancreatitis).

During acute pancreatitis, enzymes from your pancreas can escape into your blood. One of these enzymes is trypsin. It’s made from trypsinogen. Trypsinogen turns into trypsin in the small intestine, and the names of the two are sometimes used interchangeably.