Pancreas

The pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ that serves two functions:

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• exocrine - it produces pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes
• endocrine - it produces several important hormones

The pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ located posterior to the stomach on the posterior abdominal wall.

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In humans the pancreas is a small elongated organ in the abdomen. It is described as having a head, body and tail. The pancreatic head abuts the second part of the duodenum while the tail extends towards the spleen. The pancreatic duct runs the length of the pancreas and empties into the second part of the duodenum at the ampulla of Vater. The common bile duct commonly joins the pancreatic duct at or near this point.

Pancreas: Anatomy ►



 

Retroperitoneal: Retroperitoneal is an anatomical term that refers to the relationship of the contents of the abdominal cavity to the peritoneal space. Organs such as the kidneys, bladder, and portions of the duodenum and the colon lie behind the peritoneum and are thus termed retroperitoneal....

Stomach: In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek στόμαχος) is an organ in the alimentary canal used to digest food. Generally, the stomach's primary function is not the absorption of nutrients from digested food; this task is usually performed by the intestine....

Posterior abdominal wall: REDIRECT Abdominal wall...