Call , email info pancan. The pancreas is a gland, about six inches long, located in the abdomen. It is shaped like a flat pear and is surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver, spleen and gallbladder. The wide end of the pancreas on the right side of the body is called the head. The middle sections are the neck and body. The thin end of the pancreas on the left side of the body is called the tail.
The uncinate process is the part of the gland that bends backwards and underneath the head of the pancreas. Two very important blood vessels, the superior mesenteric artery and superior mesenteric vein, cross behind the neck of the pancreas and in front of the uncinate process.
The pancreas is both an exocrine gland and endocrine gland and has two main functions — digestion and blood sugar regulation. Exocrine cells of the pancreas produce enzymes that help with digestion. When food enters the stomach, exocrine cells release the pancreatic enzymes into a system of small ducts that lead to the main pancreatic duct. The pancreatic duct runs the length of the pancreas and carries pancreatic enzymes and other secretions, collectively called pancreatic juice.
The main pancreatic duct connects with the common bile duct, which carries bile from the gallbladder, and together they connect with the duodenum at a point called the ampulla of Vater. The jejunum is one of three sections that make up the small intestine. Learn about its function and anatomy, as well as the conditions that can affect…. At-home microbiome testing kits can be a first step.
We look at these and give our recommendations for your overall gut health questions. Cholangitis is inflammation swelling in the bile duct. Treatment depends on your symptoms and whether you have chronic or acute cholangitis. Gastroparesis is a condition in which your stomach empties into your small intestine too slowly. Learn about the best diet for gastroparesis and what…. What does a gastroenterologist do, and when should you see one? Here's what you should know before making an appointment.
Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children. It can also affect adults. Learn about this condition, symptoms, and…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Does the Pancreas Do? Written by Tim Jewell — Updated on March 9, The pancreas plays a dual role in your bodily functions: Endocrine system. Sarcomas are extremely rare in the pancreas. A cancer in the organ where it started in. A primary cancer of the pancreas is one that started in the pancreas as opposed to a cancer that started somewhere else and only later spread to the pancreas.
A forecast for the probable outcome of a disease based on the experience of large numbers of other patients with similar stage disease. Importantly, making a prognosis is not an exact science. Some patients with poor prognosis beat the odds and live longer than anyone would have predicted. Steve Dunn's Cancer Guide has an excellent article on statistics and prognoses and stories of other cancer patients. A thick ring of muscle a sphincter between the stomach and duodenum. This sphincter helps control the release of the stomach contents into the small intestine.
A medical doctor specially trained to study disease processes. Pathologists make the microscopic diagnosis that is used to establish the diagnosis of cancer. Around the ampulla of Vater in the duodenum. The peri-ampullary region is comprised of 4 structures; the ampulla, the duodenum, the bile duct and the head of the pancreas. It is sometimes difficult to tell which structure a tumor originated in.
In such cases the diagnosis will be a peri-ampullary tumor. The biochemical study of plants; concerned with the identification, biosynthesis, metabolism of chemical constituents of plants; especially in regards to natural products.
An oblong organ located between the stomach and the spine. The pancreas secretes enzymes needed for the digestion of food and it produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon which help control blood sugar.
Any treatment that reduces the severity of a disease or its symptoms. Palliative care is often a part of the treatment plan for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. A term used to describe certain tumors which grow in finger-like projections.
Pathologists use this term to describe some precancerous lesions in the pancreas intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. An abnormal new growth of tissue that grows more rapidly than normal cells and will continue to grow if not treated. These growths will compete with normal cells for nutrients. This is a general term that can refer to benign or malignant growths. It is a synonym for the word tumor. A medical doctor who specializes in the treatment of tumors.
Oncologists often treat patients with pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy. A surgically created opening in an organ that can also be referred to as an anastamosis. Sometimes when surgeons remove a segment of bowel they create an ostomy to allow for the bowel contents to exit the body.
A cancer that has spread from one organ to another. Pancreas cancer most frequently metastasizes to the liver. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy that is given to patients before surgery. Some centers feel that the use of neoadjuvant therapy improves local and regional control of disease and that it may make more patients surgical candidates.
A cancer that has the potential of invading nearby tissues, spreading to other organs metastasizing and possibly leading to the patient's death. Normal, round, raisin to grape-sized collections of lymphocytes white blood cells found throughout the body. Lymph nodes are connected to each other by lymphatic vessels. They normally help fight infection, but also are one of the first sites to which cancers spread. In general, the spread of cancer to lymph nodes portends a worse prognosis for the patient.
There are exceptions to this. A painless method for visualizing internal organs. A tube-like machine with a powerful magnet generates images of the inside of the body. It does not involve the use of Xrays. The largest organ in the body, located in the right upper part of the abdomen.
It performs many life-maintaining functions including the production of bile. The liver detoxifies the blood of drugs, alcohol and other harmful chemicals. It processes nutrients absorbed by the intestine and stores essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Bilirubin is a chemical produced when old or damaged blood cells breakdown. The liver chemically process the bilirubin so that it can dissolve in water and be excreted through the urine.
When this process is disrupted, jaundice can develop. Removable tissues include some lymph nodes and parts of the duodenum and stomach that are routinely removed in some surgical treatments for pancreatic cancer.
Yellowing of the skin or yellowing of the whites of the eyes caused by the accumulation of bile pigments usually due to an obstruction of the bile ducts. A technique that surgeons can use to visualize and even biopsy take tissue samples of organs inside of the abdomen without making large incisions. Very small incisions are made in the belly and small tubes called trocars are then inserted. Gas is pumped in through one of the tubes to create enough space to work in.
The surgeon inserts a small camera through one of the tubes and examines the lining and contents of the abdominal cavity by looking at the projected image on the television screen. With specially designed laparascopic instruments, biopsies and fluid samples can be taken for examination.
Some surgeons feel that this technique can help "stage" a patient less invasively than with open surgery. A term used to indicate that cancerous cells are present in the duct but have not yet invaded deeper tissues. A hormone produced by the endocrine cells of the islets of Langerhans cells of the pancreas.
Insulin acts to lower blood sugar levels. The widest part of the pancreas. It is found in the right part of abdomen, nestled in the curve of the duodenum, which forms an impression in the side of the pancreas.
A hormone produced by the endocrine islets of Langerhans cells of the pancreas. When blood sugar levels are low, glucagon acts to raise blood sugar levels. A green pear-shaped organ located on the right side of the abdomen just under the liver. The gallbladder is essentially a reservoir for holding bile. Gemzar is the trade name for the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine.
It is frequently used to treat pancreatic cancer. It has been shown, in controlled clinical trials, to improve quality of life. The exocrine cells acinar cells of the pancreas produce and transport chemicals that will exit the body through the digestive system.
The chemicals that the exocrine cells produce are called enzymes. They are secreted in the duodenum where they assist in the digestion of food. A chemical that causes a reaction in other substances, in this case as a part of the digestive process. A test used to visualize and examine the pancreas and bile ducts.
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