Pancreatic duct

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung, is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion provided by the "exocrine pancreas". The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct just prior to the ampulla of Vater, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum at the major duodenal papilla.

The duct of Wirsung is named after its discoverer, German anatomist Johann Georg Wirsung (1589-1643).

Accessory pancreatic duct

Most people have just one pancreatic duct. However, some have an additional accessory pancreatic duct, called the Duct of Santorini.

Clinical significance

Compression, obstruction or inflammation of the pancreatic duct may lead to acute pancreatitis. The most common cause for obstruction is choledocholithiasis, or gallstones in the common bile duct.

Pancreatic ductal carcinoma is a common form of pancreatic cancer.

Additional images

References

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday July 10, 2008 at 05:37:51 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation