Failure of normal fusion of dorsal and ventral anlage
Dorsal and ventral ducts don’t fuse
Wirsung (ventral duct) drains head of pancreas via major papilla
Santorini (dorsal duct) drains body and tail via minor papilla
Can cause functional stenosis of minor papilla and secondary pancreatitis
Higher prevalence in patients with recurrent or chronic pancreatitis. Etiology is not the divisum, but rather the genetic mutations associated with divisum causing recurrent inflammation