Pancreas – Health Boost

Pancreas:

The pancreas is an organ located in the abdomen. It plays an essential role in converting the food we eat into fuel for the body’s cells. The pancreas has two main functions: an exocrine function that helps in digestion and an endocrine function that regulates blood sugar.

Location:

The pancreas is located behind the stomach in the upper left abdomen. It is surrounded by other organs including the small intestine, liver, and spleen. It is spongy, about six to ten inches long, and is shaped like a flat pear or a fish extended horizontally across the abdomen.

The wide part, called the head of the pancreas, is positioned toward the center of the abdomen. The head of the pancreas is located at the juncture where the stomach meets the first part of the small intestine. This is where the stomach empties partially digested food into the intestine, and the pancreas releases digestive enzymes into these contents.

The central section of the pancreas is called the neck or body.

The thin end is called the tail and extends to the left side.

Function:

The pancreas is an organ that in humans lies in the abdomen, stretching from behind the stomach to the left upper abdomen near the spleen. In adults, it is about 12–15 centimetres (4.7–5.9 in) long, lobulated, and salmon-coloured in appearance.

Anatomically, the pancreas is divided into a head, neck, body, and tail. The pancreas stretches from the inner curvature of the duodenum, where the head surrounds two blood vessels: the superior mesenteric artery and vein. The longest part of the pancreas, the body, stretches across behind the stomach, and the tail of the pancreas ends adjacent to the spleen.

Two ducts, the main pancreatic duct and a smaller accessory pancreatic duct run through the body of the pancreas. The main pancreatic duct joins with the common bile duct forming a small ballooning called the ampulla of Vater (hepatopancreatic ampulla). This ampulla is surrounded by a muscle, the sphincter of Oddi. This ampulla opens into the descending part of the duodenum. The opening of the common bile duct into main pancreatic duct is controlled by sphincter of Boyden. The accessory pancreatic duct opens into duodenum with separate openings located above the opening of the main pancreatic duct.

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