The Pancreas: Structure and Function

In short: The pancreas is an elongated gland in the upper abdomen behind the stomach. It has two major tasks: it supplies digestive juice and it produces hormones that regulate blood sugar.

In more detail: Most of the organ produces digestive enzymes that flow into the small intestine. Scattered within it are small groups of cells, the islets of Langerhans, which release insulin and glucagon directly into the blood.

In detail

• Position and shape: The organ lies across the upper abdomen; its broad head nestles into the curve of the duodenum, while its narrow tail reaches close to the spleen (milz-aufbau-und-funktion).
• Digestive juice: Every day the pancreas releases a considerable amount of juice, which flows through a duct, usually together with the bile duct, into the duodenum.
• Enzymes for all nutrients: The juice contains enzymes that break carbohydrates, fats and proteins down into small building blocks so that the intestine can absorb them (verdauungssystem-vom-mund-bis-zum-darm).
• Protection against self-digestion: Protein-splitting enzymes are made as inactive precursors and only activated in the intestine, so that they do not attack the body’s own tissue.
• Neutralising acid: Bicarbonate in the pancreatic juice neutralises the acidic food mixture coming from the stomach, so that the enzymes can work well in the intestine.
• Islets of Langerhans: These islands of cells make up only a small part of the organ, but they are indispensable as a hormone gland (hormone-und-stoffwechsel).
• Insulin: The beta cells release insulin when blood sugar rises; it makes sure that body cells take up sugar from the blood.
• Glucagon: The alpha cells produce glucagon, which prompts the liver to release stored sugar when blood sugar is low (blutzucker-grundlagen).
• Getting symptoms checked: Severe, persistent pain in the upper abdomen, often spreading to the back, or changes in blood sugar should be examined by a doctor.