Liver, Gallbladder, and Exocrine Pancreas
Pritam S. Sahota, James A. Popp, Jerry F. Hardisty, Chirukandath Gopinath, Page R. Bouchard in Toxicologic Pathology, 2018
The pancreas is a faintly lobulated, pale, and yellow to tan-pink organ that extends from the duodenum to the hilum of the spleen. The gross anatomy of the pancreas varies substantially between humans and domestic or laboratory animals; therefore, the terminology used from humans is not adequate for animals. The head of the pancreas in humans is adjacent to the superior duodenal flexure, extending to the left as the body of the pancreas and eventually elongating toward the spleen as the tail of the pancreas. In many domestic animals, including dogs, the body or middle part of the pancreas is adjacent to the duodenum and left and right lobes extend from it to the respective sides. Small laboratory rodents have duodenal, gastric, and splenic lobes of the pancreas, and each lobe has a main excretory duct that joins the common bile duct before reaching the duodenum. Additionally, accessory or aberrant lobes of pancreas are common in mice and rats, and each of these lobes has its own excretory duct (Sisson and Grossman 1953; Böck et al. 1997; Longnecker and Wilson 2002). However, specific regions of the pancreas of rodents are often referred to as head, body, and tail because of wide familiarity with this terminology. The head of the pancreas is considered as that portion within the mesoduodenum of the duodenal loop and the mesocolon portions of the dorsal mesentery; the body within the mesoduodenum, mesocolon, and greater omentum; and the tail within the gastrosplenic ligament of the greater omentum (Usborne et al. 2015).
Abdominal surgery
Roy Palmer, Diana Wetherill in Medicine for Lawyers, 2020
The abdomen may be thought of as a box. The roof of the box is the diaphragm separating the abdomen from the chest. The floor of the box is the pelvis containing the bladder and, in a woman, the uterus and ovaries. The side walls of the box include the anterior, lateral and posterior abdominal walls. Running through the abdominal cavity is the spinal column and in front of this the main blood vessel supplying the lower half of the body (aorta) and the main vein returning blood to the heart (inferior vena cava). The kidneys are situated on either side of the spinal column towards the back of the abdominal cavity. The liver is situated on the right-hand side of the abdominal cavity below the diaphragm. The spleen is on the left-hand side below the diaphragm. The pancreas lies across the abdominal cavity running from the left- to the right-hand side. The pancreas drains into the first part of the small bowel, the duodenum. The oesophagus takes food from the mouth, runs through the thoracic cavity, and enters the abdomen through the diaphragm.
The patient with acute gastrointestinal problems
Peate Ian, Dutton Helen in Acute Nursing Care, 2020
The pancreas is a retroperitoneal gland approximately 12–15cm long and 2.5cm thick. It is connected by the pancreatic duct to the common bile duct, which in turn empties into the duodenum. Structurally, the pancreas is composed of clustered epithelial cells, about 99% of which constitute the exocrine portion of the organ. They secrete approximately 1200–1500mL daily of pancreatic juice, consisting of water, salts, sodium bicarbonate and enzymes. Bicarbonate pancreatic juice mixes with acidic chyme in the duodenum to neutralise the substance. Pancreatic juices consist of several enzymes that aid in the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The protein digesting enzymes are secreted initially within the pancreas in an inactive form (trypsinogen), as the active form would damage the pancreas itself. Trypsinogen is only activated when it reaches the duodenum and mixes with other enzymes. It is the premature activation of trypsinogen, when it is still in the pancreas, which causes serious problems (pancreatitis). The remaining 1% of the cells are organised into pancreatic islets (islets of Langerhans), which have an endocrine function. These cells secrete hormones such as glucagon, insulin, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide (see section on diabetic emergencies in Chapter 11).
A rare case of intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas – case report (with video)
Published in Postgraduate Medicine, 2020
Ankit Dalal, Gaurav Patil, Amol Vadgaonkar, Amit Maydeo
The lesion at the head of pancreas causes ductal obstruction which leads to repeated attacks of pancreatitis. CEA levels were done as the lesion resembled IPMN morphologically during EUS. However, HPE proved otherwise. ITPN are premalignant and have demonstrated its potential for progression to invasive carcinoma. The first case was recognized in 1990s, named as intraductal tubular carcinoma in 2002, renamed as ITPN in 2009 [6]. There is no gender predominance and is equally seen among males and females. The mean age at diagnosis is 61 years (range 35–78 years) [7]. Two-thirds of patients usually exhibit nonspecific symptoms including abdominal pain, weight loss, vomiting, exacerbation of diabetes, jaundice, and fever. While the remaining one-third are often asymptomatic. Nearly half of these neoplasms are located in the head of pancreas. However, it has been seen in other parts as well including head and body, body and tail with diffuse involvement [7]. They grow slowly and become large at the time of diagnosis. Size of the tumor varies and can range approximately from 1 to 15 cm (average of 3 cm). Laboratory investigations are often negative including tumor-specific antigens. Surgery is the treatment option in most cases with the commonly performed being pylorus preserving pancreatoduodenectomy and distal pancreatectomy.
Nutrition Intake and Nutrition Status of Pancreatic Cancer Patients: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Exercise Intervention Study
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2022
Dorothea Clauss, Ingeborg Rötzer, Christine Tjaden, Thilo Hackert, Joachim Wiskemann, Karen Steindorf
The pancreas is closely involved in the metabolism of food and nutrients through the production of digestive enzymes and the secretion of hormones (insulin, glucagon) (1). Digestive enzymes are essential for the digestion and the utilization of nutrients. These metabolic processes can be affected by a disease of the pancreas (2). In patients with pancreatic cancer, the production of digestive enzymes is often reduced, disrupted, or no longer present, leading to maldigestion and malabsorption (3). The 52–88% of postoperative pancreatic cancer patients showed a medium–high risk of malnutrition (4). Malnutrition is associated with poorer prognosis (5). Many pancreatic cancer patients also suffer from symptoms including abdominal pain or nausea during eating, early satiety, vomiting and diarrhea, or constipation (6) that often result in an inadequate nutritional intake and absorption. In addition, many patients report a significant weight loss already at diagnosis (7, 8). Due to those physical and metabolic effects of the cancer and due to the effects of anticancer therapies, pancreatic cancer patients are at higher risk of malnutrition in the course of their disease history (9).
Horticultural crops as natural therapeutic plants for the therapy of diabetes mellitus
Published in Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2023
Balikis Oluwakemi Mustapha, Olufemi Temitope Ademoyegun, Rabiat Shola Ahmed
Diabetes mellitus is a long-term metabolic disorder that occurs as a result of the body’s inability to produce or use insulin and this affects human physical, social and psychological health. The pancreas produces insulin in the body which helps to convey blood sugar from the bloodstream to the cells which further breaks down and is used as fuel for normal body metabolism. The disease is typically attributed to lack of glucose homeostasis brought on by errors in insulin production or activity which in turn result in an improper metabolism of glucose and other sources of energy like protein and lipid. This is frequently accompanied by a loss of energy and body weight as well as significant alterations in lipid metabolism. Diabetes can cause serious side effects such as blindness, stroke, heart attack, liver malfunction, nerve damage and kidney failure if it is not treated properly [2]. They occur in two types, namely, Type 1 (also known as Juvenile type) which is insulin-dependent and hereditary. It is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system accidentally attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. This type is common in children and adolescents.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Digestive System
- Exocrine Gland
- Abdominal Cavity
- Endocrine System
- Stomach
- Gland
- Heterocrine Gland
- Endocrine Gland
- Blood Sugar Level
- Hormone