Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)
Main pancreatic duct (duct of Wirsung)
Ductus pancreaticus (Wirsung)
- Origin
- Begins in the tail of the pancreas and traverses the length of the gland
- Insertion
- Joins the common bile duct at the hepatopancreatic ampulla (ampulla of Vater) opening at the major duodenal papilla
- Function
- Conveys bicarbonate- and enzyme-rich exocrine pancreatic juice into the second part of the duodenum
- Innervation
- Celiac plexus
- Movement & chain
- Ductal flow governed by the sphincter of Oddi
- Palpation
- Not palpated directly
- Clinical
- Impacted gallstone at the ampulla causing acute gallstone pancreatitis; chronic ductal dilation and chain-of-lakes appearance in chronic pancreatitis; IPMN mucinous tumors.
- Segmental innervation
- T7-T9 spinal levels
- In clinical practice
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) stent care, monitoring for post-procedural hyperamylasemia
- Region in the model
- Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)