Pancreas

{pan’ -kre-as) [~ac, all; npeac, flesh]. A compound racemose gland, from six to eight inches in length, lying transversely acro the posterior wall of the abdomen; the sweetbread of animals; the abdominal salivary gland of the Germans. Its right extremity, the head, lies in contact with the duodenum;^ its left extremity, the tail, is in close proximity to the spleen. It secretes a limpid, colorle fluid that digests proteids, fats, and carbohydrates. The secretion is conveyed to the duodenum by the pancreatic duct, or duct of TYirsung. P., Le er, a small, partially detached portion of the gland, lying posteriorly to its head and having occasionally a separate duct that opens into the pancreatic duct proper. 474