Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)
Pancreas
Pancreas
- Origin
- Secondarily retroperitoneal gland lying transversely across the posterior abdominal wall at L1-L2 level behind the stomach
- Insertion
- Divided into head (nestled in duodenal C-loop), neck, body, and tail (extending to splenic hilum)
- Function
- Dual endocrine/exocrine function: secretes digestive enzymes (lipase, amylase, proteases) and alkaline bicarbonate exocrinely; synthesizes insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin endocrinely
- Innervation
- Celiac and superior mesenteric plexuses; vagus nerve stimulates enzyme secretion
- Movement & chain
- Fixed retroperitoneal structure
- Palpation
- Not palpated directly due to deep retroperitoneal location
- Clinical
- Acute pancreatitis (gallstones and alcohol etiology; severe epigastric pain radiating to back with elevated lipase), chronic pancreatitis (steatorrhea and diabetes), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
- Segmental innervation
- T7-T9 spinal levels (epigastric band-like pain radiating to back)
- In clinical practice
- Aggressive fluid resuscitation and pain control in acute pancreatitis, pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) education, Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) postoperative care
- Region in the model
- Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)