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Pancreas: anatomy, location and function

The pancreas is a soft, elongated gland with both exocrine and endocrine functions. Its exocrine acini secrete digestive enzymes and bicarbonate into the duodenum, and its islets of Langerhans secrete insulin, glucagon and somatostatin.

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Highlighted in the model: Pancreas. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Pancreas at a glance

What it is
The pancreas is a soft, elongated gland with both exocrine and endocrine functions.
Location
It lies across the posterior abdominal wall at about L1 to L2, behind the stomach. It is retroperitoneal except the tail, which lies in the splenorenal ligament and reaches the splenic hilum. The head sits in the curve of the duodenum.
Function
Its exocrine acini secrete digestive enzymes and bicarbonate into the duodenum, and its islets of Langerhans secrete insulin, glucagon and somatostatin.
Body system
Digestive · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA7198 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Parts are head, uncinate process, neck, body and tail.
  • Alpha cells secrete glucagon, beta cells insulin, delta cells somatostatin.
  • Supplied by branches of the splenic, gastroduodenal and superior mesenteric arteries.

Clinical relevance

Carcinoma of the head can obstruct the bile duct and cause painless jaundice; chronic or acute pancreatitis is common.

Structures next to the pancreas

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Pancreas (FMA7198). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §23.1 Overview of the Digestive System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.