To quantify the dynamics of acute pancreatitis in a prospective clinical study on 108 patients, clinical and computed tomographic classifications were performed at days 1, 3 and 6 after admission. Sixty-two percent of the patients revealed a variable clinical staging at the times considered. Progredience of pancreatic necrosis was found in 20 of the 55 patients subjected to radiomorphologic investigations. Comparison between clinical and CT findings showed an increase in the agreement of both assessments from 69 percent (day 1) to 85 percent (day 6). Despite this high-level agreement in some patients both findings diverged remarkably. Acute pancreatitis is discussed as an interplay of necrobiosis and the "compensatory capacity" of the organism, with clinical findings acting as an indicator of the overall state of this struggle.