{"id":355,"date":"2020-02-20T20:24:30","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T20:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/?p=355"},"modified":"2020-03-06T19:26:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T19:26:31","slug":"pancreas-function-location-diseases-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/20\/pancreas-function-location-diseases-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Pancreas: Function, Location, Diseases &#038; Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Is\nPancreas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a patient information booklet detailing practical information about pancreas in general &amp; specific information about pancreatic <a href=\"http:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/15\/what-is-cancer\/\">cancer<\/a>. Its aim is to provide the patient &amp; his or her family with useful information on this particular pancreatic problem, the procedures and tests you may need to undergo, various treatment approaches available with risks involved and helpful advice on coping successfully with the problem. If you require any further information or advice or are unsure about anything, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.liverandpancreasclinic.com\/liver-pancreas-surgeon.php\">Dr. D. R. Kulkarni<\/a><\/strong> or your own doctor will be able to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>pancreas <\/strong>is a solid gland attached in the back of the abdominal cavity behind the stomach. The pancreas is divided into 5 parts &#8211; the head, the uncinate process, the neck, the body and the tail. The head of the gland is closely attached to the duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine into which the stomach empties liquids and partially digested food. The head of the gland is situated just to the right of the midline of the abdomen and below the right ribcage. The uncinate process is an extension of the lower part of the head of the gland, which surrounds important blood vessels. The body and tail of the pancreas lie at an angle so that the tail of the pancreas is situated beneath the extreme edge of the left rib cage. The tail of the gland is closely attached to the central part of the spleen &amp; splenic blood vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Running behind the neck and uncinate process are many\nimportant blood vessels which supply the liver, the rest of the gut organs and\nthe kidneys, including the aorta (an artery) which takes all the blood to the\nlower abdomen and legs, and the inferior vena cava (a vein) which returns blood\nfrom these areas. The <strong>splenic vein<\/strong>\nruns immediately under the tail and body of the pancreas and joins with the <strong>portal vein<\/strong> that runs immediately under\nthe neck of the pancreas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, pancreas is a centrally located and very\nprecariously connected to or is in very close contact with most of the\nimportant structures in the abdomen. Hence diseases affecting pancreas can\ninadvertently involve any one or more of these structures. Hence patients with\npancreatic problems may not necessarily have pancreatic complaints, but can\npresent with unrelated complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Running along the length of the pancreas within its center\nis the <strong>main pancreatic duct<\/strong>, which\nempties pancreatic juice into the duodenum. Also running through the middle of\nthe head of the pancreas is the <strong>main\nbile duct<\/strong>, which also empties into the duodenum. (The main bile duct\ncarries bile from the liver where it is made and also from the <strong>gallbladder<\/strong> where it is stored). In\nmost people the pancreatic duct and bile duct join together just before they\nopen into the duodenum through a large fleshy nipple called the <strong>ampulla of Vater<\/strong> (after the person who\ndescribed this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Surrounding the openings of each of these ducts are small\nmuscles that control the release of pancreatic juice and bile and thus act as\nvalves (also called sphincters). There is also a valve that regulates the\npancreatic juice and bile together and this sits in the ampulla. This common\nvalve is called the <strong>sphincter of Oddi<\/strong>,\nalso named after the man who described this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About one in ten people have two separate pancreatic ducts,\none that opens as normal through the ampulla of Vater and the other through a\nsmaller nipple (called as papilla). For this reason the ampulla of Vater is\nsometimes called the major papilla and the other smaller opening is called the\nminor papilla. The pancreatic duct that opens through the minor papilla is\ncalled the <strong>accessory pancreatic duct <\/strong>(normally\nthis joins the main pancreatic duct rather than opening separately into the\nduodenum).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Does\nThe Pancreas Do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The\npancreas does two important things:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>It makes\nenzymes, which are necessary to digest food in the intestines. <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Food consists of carbohydrates (e.g. glucose), proteins\n(e.g. meat) and fat (e.g. butter). Pancreas secretes different enzymes, which\nare responsible for breaking down clumps of different types of food into small\nparticles for absorption. (Process of digestion) The main enzymes include\namylase for digesting carbohydrates, trypsin for digesting proteins and lipase\nfor digesting fats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These enzymes are collected from the small glands in the\npancreas into small ducts and finally into the main pancreatic duct to be\nreleased into the duodenum. The enzymes when they are first made in the acini\nare not active (otherwise they would digest the pancreas as well!). When they\npass into the duodenum however, they are made active by the juice of the\nduodenum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there are not enough pancreatic enzymes, fat is not digested\nand the stools (bowel motions) become pale and greasy. These greasy stools may\nbecome difficult to flush away from the toilet and may give off a strong\noffensive smell. Doctors call this <strong>steatorrhoea<\/strong>\n( <strong>fatty stool<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The digestion of fat\nis very special<\/strong>. Fat needs to be dispersed before the pancreatic enzymes\ncan properly break it down. This dispersion of fats is made by bile acids,\nwhich are present in bile produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.\n<strong>Bile acids<\/strong> act in exactly the same\nway as detergents, which are used to wash up greasy dishes. Therefore, both\nbile acids and pancreatic enzymes are needed for fat digestion. If the main\nbile duct becomes blocked, then the bile cannot get into the duodenum &amp; fat\ncannot be properly digested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When this common opening is blocked, the bile made by the liver cannot go into the bowel it goes into the blood and out through the kidneys into the urine. This results in the eyes and skin becoming yellow and is known as jaundice. As the bile is in the urine this now becomes dark in color. Because the flow of bile is blocked (or obstructed), doctors call this condition <strong>obstructive jaundice<\/strong>. As the bile duct goes through the head of the pancreas, jaundice can be caused by disease of the pancreas (such as pancreatitis or <a href=\"http:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/15\/what-is-cancer\/\">cancer<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>It\nproduces insulin to enable every part of the body to use glucose (sugar).<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Insulin is a hormone made in special groups of cells called <strong>islets of Langerhans<\/strong>, which are\ndispersed throughout the pancreatic gland. It helps the cells of the body to\nuse glucose as a source of energy in order to maintain their different\nfunctions. In absence of insulin, sugar instead of entering the cells of the\nbody, stays in the blood leading to harmfully high concentrations. (Diabetes\nmellitus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A large proportion of the islets (pronounced &#8216;eye- lets&#8217;)\nare in the tail of the gland. Most of the pancreas can be removed but there are\nusually enough islets remaining to make insulin sufficient to prevent sugar diabetes\nfrom occurring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you are probably aware, diabetes can be treated by taking\nregular injections of insulin, which can be taken from the pancreas of animals\n(e.g. pork insulin) or made by genetic engineering (so called &#8216;human&#8217; insulin).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\nHappens To Pancreatic Function In Pancreatic Diseases?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If pancreatic duct outflow is blocked due to any reason,\ngradually pancreatic duct enlarges in any size due to backpressure. Eventually\nthe increased pressure within the duct starts taking toll on the pancreatic enzyme\nsecretion, which drops and affects the digestion of food and absorption of\nnutrients, thereby affecting a person\u2019s weight and overall health. The insulin\nproduction is not immediately affected but over a period it will also drop\nthereby causing sugar diabetes in the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enzyme production and insulin production are independent.\nBecause digestive enzymes and insulin are made by different parts of the\npancreas, a problem with enzyme production does not mean necessarily that there\nwill be a problem with insulin production. Similarly, if there is a problem\nwith insulin production, this does not mean necessarily that there will be a\nproblem with enzyme production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Assuming that the pancreas was normal to begin with,\nincreasing loss of the pancreas gland (by disease or surgery) usually results\nin more loss of enzyme production before there is obvious loss of insulin\nproduction. Another way of saying this is that the insulin &#8216;reserve&#8217; is much\nmore than the enzyme &#8216;reserve&#8217; of the pancreas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Which Are\nCommon Diseases Of Pancreas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/15\/acute-pancreatitis\/\">Acute Pancreatitis<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/18\/chronic-pancreatitis\/\">Chronic Pancreatitis<\/a><\/li><li>Pseudo cyst of pancreas<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.liverandpancreasclinic.com\/pancreatic-cancer.php\">Cancer of pancreas<\/a><\/li><li>Cystic tumors<\/li><li>Neuroendocrine tumors<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\nSpecial Investigations Are Done When A Problem Is Suspected With The Pancreas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may need to do some tests to find out more about your\nparticular problem. Perhaps you\u2019ve already undergone one or more of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may be advised to have certain blood tests like complete\nblood count, blood urea, creatinine, liver function tests (bilirubin, liver\nenzymes like SGOT, SGPT, Alkaline phosphatase, gamma GT, albumin), amylase,\nlipase, calcium, and parathormone. In case of acute pancreatic problems you\nwill be advised to get admitted and all these tests will then be done in-house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly diagnosis of pancreatic problems requires radiological imaging studies of abdomen like Ultrasonography, CT scan, MRI or further interventions like gastrointestinal endoscopy, ERCP, PTHC or EUS. It quite often so happens that patient is advised these investigations in a sequential manner and not at one go. This does take time but considering the cost of these investigations it is always better to ask for the next investigation only if it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately in a small group of &nbsp;patients one cannot reach a diagnosis in spite of all this effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here to learn more about: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Pancreas: Function, Location, Diseases and Treatment (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.liverandpancreasclinic.com\/pancreatic-cancer.php\" target=\"_blank\">Pancreas: Function, Location, Diseases and Treatment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>If your doctor suspects you may have pancreatitis, you may be referred to a doctor who specializes in the digestive system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Dr.&nbsp;D. R. KULKARNI (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/gastrointestinalsurgeonmumbai.com\/about-us.html\" target=\"_blank\">Dr.&nbsp;D. R. KULKARNI<\/a><br><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gastrointestinalsurgeonmumbai.com\/about-us.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Gastrointestinal &amp; Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon. (opens in a new tab)\">Gastrointestinal &amp; Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gastrointestinalsurgeonmumbai.com\/about-us.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Gastrointestinal &amp; Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon. (opens in a new tab)\">.<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p> <strong>Dr. D. R. Kulkarni<\/strong> is an eminent <strong>Gastrointestinal &amp; Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon<\/strong> in city of Mumbai, India. He has 24 years experience in the field of Gastrointestinal and Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery.  For Appointments call on : <a href=\"tel:09821046391\">9821046391<\/a> or click here to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Book an appointment online (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.liverandpancreasclinic.com\/contact-liver-and-pancreas-surgeon.php\" target=\"_blank\">Book an appointment online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pancreas is about 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) long, oblong and flat. The pancreas plays an important role in digestion and in regulating blood sugar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[32,33,34,35],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pancreas","category-uncategorized","tag-pancreas","tag-pancreas-function","tag-pancreas-role-in-digestion","tag-what-is-the-pancreas","loop-entry clr boxed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions\/365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liverandpancreasclinic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}