section name header

Synonym

Tubes

Care of specimen

Info

Amylase is a digestive enzyme that functions primarily in the digestion of complex carbohydrates. It is primarily formed by the pancreas and salivary glands, but is also present in other tissues including:

The pancreatic and the salivary isoenzymes are the ones most commonly detected by the assay.

Clinical

Serum amylase assays have the following clinical utility:

Additional information:

Nl Result

Overview:

Consult your laboratory for their normal ranges as these may vary somewhat from the ones listed below.

Conv. units
(U/L)
SI units
(µKat/L)
20-1100.33-1.85

High Result

High serum amylase concentration is called hyperamylasemia. It may occur in the following conditions:

Drugs that increase the serum amylase levels include:

Normal or high serum amylase levels may be seen in:

Low Result

Low levels of serum amylase may be seen in the following conditions

Drugs that decrease the serum amylase levels include:

References