You searched for: “pancreas”
pancreas (s) (noun), pancreases (pl)
1. A long, irregularly shaped gland in vertebrates, lying behind the stomach, that secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum and insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin into the bloodstream.
2. A gland, situated near the stomach, that secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.
3. Etymology: literally, "entirely flesh"; a soft, fleshy, mallet-shaped organ that forms two different glandular elements situated behind the stomach.

More Details about the Pancreas

The pancreas is a fish-shaped spongy grayish-pink organ about six inches (15 cm) long that stretches across the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach.

The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen and is connected to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine). The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the body.

The pancreas makes juices and hormones, including insulin. The pancreatic juices are enzymes that help digest food in the small intestine. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in the blood.

As pancreatic juices are made, they flow into the main pancreatic duct. This duct joins the common bile duct, which connects the pancreas to the liver and the gallbladder. The common bile duct, which carries bile (a fluid that helps digest fat), connects to the small intestine near the stomach.

The pancreas is considered to be a compound gland. It is "compound" in the sense that it is composed of both exocrine and endocrine tissues.

The exocrine function of the pancreas involves the synthesis and secretion of pancreatic juices.

The endocrine function resides in the million or so cellular islands (the islets of Langerhans) embedded between the exocrine units of the pancreas. Beta cells of the islands secrete insulin, which helps control carbohydrate metabolism. Alpha cells of the islets secrete glucagon that counters the action of insulin.

The islets of Langerhans were named for Paul Langerhans, a German anatomist, 1847–1888. Langerhans discovered these cells during his studies for his doctorate at the Berlin Pathological Institute in 1869.

This entry is located in the following units: pan-, panto-, pant- (page 2) pancre-, pancreo-, pancreat-, pancreato-, pancreatic-, pancreatico- (page 1)
More possibly related word entries
Units related to: “pancreas”
pancre-, pancreo-, pancreat-, pancreato-, pancreatic-, pancreatico-
(Greek: pancreas [pan, "all" plus kreas, "flesh"; the idea apparently being that the pancreas is an organ composed entirely of glandular flesh])
viscer-, viscero-, visceri-, visc-
(Latin: internal organs; all that is under the skin, all parts in the body except flesh or muscles; entrails; any large interior organ in any of the three great cavities of the body; specifically, those within the chest; such as, the heart or lungs; or in the abdomen; such as, the liver, pancreas, and intestines; and in the head; such as, the brain)
insulino-, insulin-, insula-, insulo-, insul-, isle
(Latin: island; derived from insul[a], "island" [used here in reference to the islands [islets] of Langerhans, irregular structures in the pancreas that produce the protein hormone insulin which is secreted into the blood where it regulates sugar metabolism])
Word Entries containing the term: “pancreas”
cystic fibrosis, CF; mucoviscidosis; fibrocystic disease of the pancreas
One of the most common hazardous genetic (inherited) diseases, cystic fibrosis affects the exocrine glands and is characterized by the production of abnormal secretions, leading to abnormally viscous mucus build-up.

This accumulation of mucus can impair the pancreas and, secondarily, the intestine. Mucous build-up in lungs tends progressively to impair respiration.

Without treatment, CF results in death for 95% of affected children before the age of five.

This entry is located in the following units: fibro-, fibr-, fiber- + (page 1) muco-, muc-, muci-, mucin- + (page 1) -osis, -sis, -sia, -sy, -se (page 11)
Word Entries at Get Words: “pancreas”
pancreas
A fish-shaped spongy grayish-pink organ about 6 inches (15 cm) long that stretches across the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach.

The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen and is connected to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine).

The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, protrudes to the left side of the body.

This entry is located in the following unit: Computerized Axial Tomography, CAT, or Computed Tomography, CT Terms + (page 3)