INTRODUCTION STRUCTURE DUCTS OF PANCREAS NERVE AND MUSCLE SPHINCTER EXOCRINE FUNCTION ENDOCRINE FUNCTION

2. INTRODUCTION
 Pancreas is an elongated , accessory
digestive gland.
 It is a pale grey gland , weighing
about 60 grams.
 It is about 12-15cm long , 2.5-3.8cm
broad , 1.2-1.8cm thick.
 In humans, it is located in the
abdominal cavity, behind the stomach
between duodenum on the right and
spleen on the left

3.  Pancreas is both endocrine(ductless) and
exocrine gland(duct)
 As an exocrine gland, it secretes
digestive enzymes protease, pancreatic
lipase, amylase into a duct that empties
into the small intestine.
 As an endocrine gland producing several
important hormones, including insulin,
glucagon, somatostatin, all of which
circulate in the blood

4. STRUCTURE
Anatomically, the pancreas is divided into
the head of pancreas, the body of
pancreas, and the tail of pancreas
1.HEAD
 Head is the enlarged flattened present
in the right end of the
pancreas, situated within the curve of
the duodenum.
 Head has 3 borders: superior, inferior
and right lateral
 It has 2 surfaces: anterior and
posterior

5. STRUCTURE
The anterior surface is related to
1) gastroduodenal artery
2) the transverse colon
3) the jejunum which is separated from it
by peritonium
 Posterior surface is related to
1) inferior vena cava
2) terminal parts of renal vein
3)bile duct

6. STRUCTURE
 It has one part called uncinate pancreas,
which projects from the lower and left
part of the head towards left.
 It is related anteriorly to the superior
mesenteric vessels and posteriorly to the
aorta.
 It as a hook- like extension of the head of
the pancreas and highly variable in size
and shape.

7. STRUCTURE
BODY of the pancreas is elongated
 It extends from the head to the tail
 It passes towards the left with a slight
upward and backward inclination
 It has 3 borders and 3 surface
1) anterior surface- covered by peritonium
and related to stomach
2) posterior surface- devoid of peritonium
3) inferior surface – covered by peritonium
and related to the jejunum

8. STRUCTURE
TAIL
 This is present in the left end of the
pancreas
 The tip of the tail is usually blunted and
linked together with the splenic vessels
 It comes into contact with the lower part of
the gastric surface of the spleen.

9. DUCTS OF PANCREAS
 The exocrine pancreas is drained by 2
ducts,
1) The main pancreatic duct( duct of
wirsung)
 Begins in the tail of the pancreas and
runs through the gland to the head and
it is closely related to the bile duct
 Its easily recognized by its white color
 The main pancreatic duct and bile duct
unite to form the short, dilated
hepatopancreatic ampulla(of Vater)
which opens into the descending part of
duodenum.

10. DUCTS OF PANCREAS
2) Accessory pancreatic duct
( duct of santorini)
 It begins in the lower part of
the head, crosses the front of
the main duct with it
communicates an open into the
duodenum at the minor
duodenal papilla

11. MUSCLE SPHINCTER AND
NERVES
 Smooth muscle sphincter control
the flow of bile and pancreatic juice
into the duodenum
1) sphincter of pancreatic duct
2) sphincter of bile duct
3) sphincter of hepatopancreatic
( sphincter of Oddi )
 Nerves- derived from Vagus and
abdominopelvic splanchnic nerves

12. STRUCTURE  Blood supply- the abdominal aorta
and inferior vena cava lie behind the
gland and supply blood
 ARTERY- head of the pancreas
supplied by
 1) superior pancreatic – duodenal
artery
 2)inferior pancreatic – duodenal
artery
 Neck , body and tail is supplied by –
branches of splenic artery
 VEINS- Pancreatic veins drains in
the portal vein and superior
mesentric vein

13. FUNCTIONS
The pancreas has two main functions. The exocrine cells produce digestive enzymes
to assist in digestion and the endocrine cells produce hormones to control
metabolism.
1) EXOCRINE FUNCTION
 The pancreas contains exocrine glands made of acini cells that produce enzymes
important to digestion.
 Pancreatic proteases (trypsin and chymotrypsin) - digest proteins into smaller
amino acid subunits.
 Pancreatic amylase - aids in the digestion of carbohydrates.
 Pancreatic lipase - aids in fat digestion.

14. EXOCRINE FUNCTION
When food enters the stomach, these pancreatic
juices are released into a system of ducts that
culminate in the main pancreatic duct. The
pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct to form
the ampulla of Vater . The common bile duct
originates in the liver and the gallbladder and
produces another important digestive juice called
bile. The pancreatic juices and bile that are
released into the duodenum, help the body to
digest fats, carbohydrates, and proteins

15. 2. ENDOCRINE FUNCTION
 Distributed throughout the gland are group of specialized cells called
pancreatic islets
( islets of langerhans)
 The endocrine cells of the pancreas produce hormones that control certain
metabolic functions, including blood sugar regulation and digestion
 The islets have no ducts so the hormones diffuse directly into the blood

16. ENDOCRINE FUNCTION
 Alpha cell= produce , store and secrete
glucagon.
• Glucagon stimulate glycogenolysis and
gluconeogenesis; increase blood glucose level
• low blood glucose levels stimulate its release.
 Beta cell= produce, store , secrete Insulin.
• Elevated blood glucose levels stimulate the
release of insulin
• Insulin stimulate glycogenesis; decrease blood
glucose level and Store glucose in the form of
glycogen in liver and muscles
• Insulin function opposite to glucagon and work
to maintain normal glucose level in blood.
Somatostatin
inhibit release of both
glucagon and insulin
 Gastrin - stimulates
gastric acid secretion to aid
digestion in the stomach