PANCREAS

Pancreas

The pancreas is a glandular organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide, and a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist the absorption of nutrients and the digestion in the small intestine. These enzymes help to further break down the carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in the chyme.

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pancreas

Noun

  1. A gland near the stomach which secretes a fluid into the duodenum to help with food digestion. The fluid contains protease, carbohydrase and lipase, which breaks down larger molecules into smaller pieces. The pancreas also produces the hormones insulin and glucagon which regulate blood sugar. These hormones are released into the cardiovascular system.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: pancreas
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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