What is the Pancreas?
©2011- Memorial Hospital & Health System
The pancreas is a gland, about six inches long, located beneath the stomach and in front of the spine vertebrae. It is also surrounded by other organs like the small intestine, liver, spleen and gallbladder.
Anatomically, the pancreas can be divided into head, uncinate process, body and tail. The head is the right-hand portion that lies adjacent to the duodenum. The uncinate process is an extension of the head of the pancreas. The body is the middle portion of the pancreas. The tail is the left-hand portion of the pancreas that lies adjacent to the spleen.
Anatomically, the pancreas can be divided into head, uncinate process, body and tail. The head is the right-hand portion that lies adjacent to the duodenum. The uncinate process is an extension of the head of the pancreas. The body is the middle portion of the pancreas. The tail is the left-hand portion of the pancreas that lies adjacent to the spleen.
Histology of the Pancreas
© 2010 Johns Hopkins University
There are two types of cells in the pancreas: the exocrine cells and the endocrine cells. The exocrine cells secrete enzymes to help in the digestion of food in the intestines. The endocrine cells secrete hormones (insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin) into the bloodstream to controls the levels of sugar in the blood. Pancreatic cancer is one of the diseases that interrupt these functions by destroying pancreas cells. Pancreatic cancer begins when abnormal cells grow out of control within the pancreas.
The enzymes are emptied into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, by the pancreatic duct. Before reaching the duodenum, the pancreatic duct meets the bile duct to form the hepatopancreatic duct. Ampulla of Vater is the valve of the hepatopancreatic duct opening on the internal wall of the duodenum.
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