The pancreas is an essential, endocrine and accessory digestive gland found in a central position within the abdomen.

The pancreas (Credit: BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Functions

The pancreas produces both exocrine and endocrine products:

  • Pancreatic juice that enters the duodenum via a duct
  • Hormones at the islets of Langerhans that enter the blood

Location

The pancreas is a secondary retroperitoneal (develops in the peritoneum and leaves it at some point — except for its tail).

The pancreas is located transversely to the L1 and L2 vertebral bodies (transpyloric plane).

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