page_title: Pancreas
section_title: Structure
hierarchical_section_title: Pancreas / Structure
caption_attribution_description: English: Title Pancreas and Nearby Organs Description The pancreas and nearby organs and structures in the digestive tract (esophagus, liver, common bile duct, stomach, spleen, gall bladder, duodenum, small intestine, and large intestine). Topics/Categories Anatomy -- Digestive/Gastrointestinal System Type Color, Medical Illustration Source National Cancer Institute
context_page_description: The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas has both an endocrine and a digestive exocrine function. As an endocrine gland, it functions mostly to regulate blood sugar levels, secreting the hormones insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide. As a part of the digestive system, it functions as an exocrine gland secreting pancreatic juice into the duodenum through the pancreatic duct. This juice contains bicarbonate, which neutralizes acid entering the duodenum from the stomach; and digestive enzymes, which break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in food entering the duodenum from the stomach.
  Inflammation of the pancreas is known as pancreatitis, with common causes including chronic alcohol use and gallstones. Because of its role in the regulation of blood sugar, the pancreas is also a key organ in diabetes mellitus. Pancreatic cancer can arise following chronic pancreatitis or due to other reasons, and carries a very poor prognosis, as it is often identified when it has spread to other areas of the body.
context_section_description: 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, joining with the common bile duct near a small ballooning called the ampulla of Vater. Surrounded by a muscle, the sphincter of Oddi, this opens into the descending part of the duodenum.
caption: The pancreas (shown here in pink) sits behind the stomach, with the body near the curvature of the duodenum, and the tail stretching to touch the spleen.
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