The Pancreas

What is the pancreas?

Where is the pancreas found?

The pancreas is in the upper abdomen and lies behind the stomach and intestines (guts). The pancreas has a connection to the duodenum (the first part of the gut, which is connected to the stomach) via a duct (tube). This connecting duct allows the enzymes produced by the pancreas to pass into the intestines.

What does the pancreas do?

The pancreas has two main functions:

• To make digestive enzymes which help us to digest food. Enzymes are special chemicals which help to speed up your body’s processes.
• To make hormones which regulate our metabolism. Hormones are chemicals which can be released into the blood-stream. They act as messengers, affecting cells and tissues in distant parts of your body.

About 90% of the pancreas is dedicated to making digestive enzymes. Cells called acinar cells within the pancreas produce these enzymes. The enzymes help to make proteins, fats and carbohydrates smaller. This helps the intestines to absorb these nutrients. The acinar cells also make a liquid which creates the right conditions for pancreatic enzymes to work. This is also known as pancreatic juice. The enzymes made by the pancreas include:

• Pancreatic proteases (such as trypsin and chymotrypsin) help to digest proteins.
• Pancreatic amylase which helps to digest carbohydrates (sugars).
• Pancreatic lipase which helps to digest fat.

Approximately 5% of the pancreas makes hormones which help to regulate your body’s metabolism. These hormones are made by several different cells which clump together like little 'islands' (islets) within the pancreas. The islets are called ‘islets of Langerhans’ and there are about one million islets dotted about in an adult pancreas. The hormones produced by the cells in the ‘islets of Langerhans’ within the pancreas include:

• Insulin - which helps to regulate sugar levels in the blood.
• Glucagon – which works with insulin to keep blood sugar levels balanced.
• Somatostatin – helps to control the release of other hormones.
• Gastrin – which aids digestion in the stomach.

How does the pancreas work?

Some disorders of the pancreas

Cancer of the pancreas

There are various types. The common type is called ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and arises from cells of the pancreatic duct. This mainly occurs in people over 60. There are some rare types of cancer which arise from other types of cells within the pancreas. For example, cells in the pancreas that make insulin or glucagon can become cancerous ('insulinomas' and 'glucagonomas').
For details see www.patient.co.uk/health/Cancer-of-the-Pancreas.htm

Acute pancreatitis

This is when the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short time - within a few days or so. It causes abdominal pain. It usually settles in a few days but sometimes it becomes severe and very serious. The usual causes are gallstones or drinking a lot of alcohol.
For details see www.patient.co.uk/health/Pancreatitis-Acute.htm

Chronic pancreatitis

This is when the inflammation in the pancreas is persistent. The inflammation tends to be less intense than acute pancreatitis but, as it is ongoing, it can cause scarring and damage. This can cause abdominal pain, poor digestion, diabetes and other complications. Drinking a lot of alcohol over a number of years is the common cause.
For details see www.patient.co.uk/health/Pancreatitis-Chronic.htm

Type 1 diabetes

With type 1 diabetes the pancreas stops making insulin. It is treated with insulin injections and a healthy diet.
For details see www.patient.co.uk/health/Diabetes-Type-1.htm

Further more detailed information available free online

The pancreas

From Gray's Anatomy Online
Web: www.bartleby.com/107/251.html

Hepatic And Pancreatic Function And Disorders

From Textbook in Medical Physiology And Pathophysiology
Web: www.mfi.ku.dk/ppaulev/chapter23/Chapter%2023.htm

Human Physiology/The gastrointestinal system

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Web: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Human_Physiology/The_gastrointestinal_system