pancreas

AI overview

The pancreas is a gland located behind your stomach that plays two important roles in your body: it helps digest food by releasing digestive enzymes, and it regulates your blood sugar levels by producing hormones like insulin. Because of these dual functions, problems with the pancreas can affect both digestion and blood sugar control.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name: Pancreas
Anatomy.Latin: pancreas
Anatomy.Greek: πάγκρεας (pánkreas)
Anatomy.Image: Blausen_0699_PancreasAnatomy2.png
Anatomy.Caption: Anatomy of the human pancreas
Anatomy.Precursor: Pancreatic buds
Anatomy.System: Digestive system and endocrine system
Anatomy.Artery: Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery, anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery, posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery, splenic artery
Anatomy.Vein: Pancreaticoduodenal veins, pancreatic veins
Anatomy.Nerve: Pancreatic plexus, celiac ganglia, vagus nerve
Anatomy.Lymph: Splenic lymph nodes, celiac lymph nodes and superior mesenteric lymph nodes

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

226,372 papers

Pancreatitis in the developmentally anomalous pancreas.ReviewAbdominal radiology (New York) · 2020Wood CG, Lopes Vendrami C, Craig E et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00261-019-02197-8
Pancreas volume in health and disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Expert review of gastroenterology & hepatology · 2018DeSouza SV, Singh RG, Yoon HD et al.DOI: 10.1080/17474124.2018.1496015
The pancreas.ReviewClinics in gastroenterology · 1985Laugier R, Sarles H
The pancreas--hermit of the abdomen.ReviewAORN journal · 2002Gavaghan MDOI: 10.1016/s0001-2092(06)61613-x
Animal Models of Pancreas Development, Developmental Disorders, and Disease.ReviewAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2020Lorberbaum DS, Docherty FM, Sussel LDOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-2389-2_3
Pancreas divisum.Pancreas · 1988Cotton PBDOI: 10.1097/00006676-198805000-00001
MR imaging of the pancreas.ReviewRadiologic clinics of North America · 2014O'Neill E, Hammond N, Miller FHDOI: 10.1016/j.rcl.2014.02.006
Pancreas in primary malnutrition disorders.ReviewThe American journal of clinical nutrition · 1973Pitchumoni CSDOI: 10.1093/ajcn/26.3.374

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Illu pancrease.svg

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Pancreas
Commons gallery: Pancreas
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12393

Sources (9)

via Wikidata · CC0

~25 min read

Article

26 sections

Contents

Structure
Parts
Blood supply
Microanatomy
Variation
Gene and protein expression
Development
Cellular development
Function
Blood glucose regulation
Digestion
Additional functions
Clinical significance
Inflammation
Cancer
Diabetes mellitus
Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Removal
History
Other animals
Cuisine
Additional images
References
Bibliography
External links

The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e., it has both an endocrine and a digestive exocrine function. Ninety-nine percent of the pancreas is exocrine and 1% is endocrine. As an endocrine gland, it functions mostly to regulate blood sugar levels, secreting the hormones insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide. As a part of the digestive system, it functions as an exocrine gland secreting pancreatic juice into the duodenum through the pancreatic duct. This juice contains bicarbonate, which neutralizes acid entering the duodenum from the stomach; and digestive enzymes, which break down carbohydrates, proteins and fats in food entering the duodenum from the stomach.

Inflammation of the pancreas is known as pancreatitis; common causes include chronic alcohol use and gallstones. Because of its role in the regulation of blood sugar, the pancreas is also a key organ in diabetes. Pancreatic cancer can arise following chronic pancreatitis or due to other reasons, and it carries a very poor prognosis, as it is often only identified after it has spread to other areas of the body.