The pancreatic duct and its two chief radicles are indicated by dotted
lines, since they are in the substance of the gland.
]
The =right angle= is rounded, and lies on the ventral surface of the
right kidney and adrenal body.
The pancreas is attached dorsally by connective tissue to the kidneys
and adrenal bodies, the gastro-phrenic ligament and the suspensory
ligament of the spleen, the posterior vena cava, the portal fissure, and
the gastro-pancreatic fold. The ventral surface is mainly attached by
areolar tissue to the base of the cæcum and the terminal part of the
great colon.
There are almost invariably two =ducts=. The large one is termed the
=pancreatic duct= (Ductus pancreaticus [Wirsungi]). It is formed by the
union of two radicles which come from the right and left extremities,
and passes through the duodenal angle to end at the duodenal
diverticulum alongside of the bile-duct. The duct is nearly half an inch
(ca. 1 cm.) wide, and is very thin-walled. It is situated in the
substance of the gland near its dorsal surface; none of it is free. The
=accessory pancreatic duct= (Ductus pancreaticus accessorius
[Santorini]) arises either from the chief duct or its left radicle, and
ends on a papilla in the duodenum opposite the chief duct.
=Structure.=—The pancreas belongs to the class of tubulo-alveolar
glands, the alveoli being long, like those of the duodenal glands; in
other respects it resembles the serous salivary glands very closely. It
has no proper capsule and the lobules are rather loosely united.
=Vessels and Nerves.=—The arteries of the pancreas come from the
branches of the cœliac and anterior mesenteric arteries. The nerves are
derived from the cœliac and mesenteric plexuses of the sympathetic.