Pancreas

Question 1

Describe the anatomy of the pancreas, what is the blood supply?

Answer 1

Uncinate process, head, neck body and tail

BLOOD SUPPLY
Splenic artery and 4 pancreaticoduodenal arteries - anterior/posterior inferior/superior pancreaticoduodenal artery

Question 2

Bile

1. When is bile produced/by what?
2. What is the gall bladders involvement?
3. What stimulates release of bile?
4. Where is bile reabsorbed in the intestines, how much?

Answer 2

1. LIVER CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCES BILE 
AT LOW RATES.
2. THE BILE IS STORED AND
CONCENTRATED IN THE GALLBLADDER.
3. CCK STIMULATED BY THE PRESENCE OF 
LIPIDS IN THE DUODENUM TRIGGERS 
THE RELEASE OF BILE
4. 95% OF THE BILE SALTS (~ 0.7% of bile) IS 
REABSORBED IN THE TERMINAL ILEUM - ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF BILE SALTS 
ESCAPES THE RECYCLATION AND IS 
EXCRETED IN FAECES

Question 3

What are chylomicrons/lipids converted into? -where are they stored?
*How is excess cholesterol excreted?

Answer 3

1. VLDs - stored in adipose tissue as triglyceride, in skeletal muscle as glycogen
2. LDLs - transports cholesterol to body tissues (has higher cholesterol content - cholesterol is needed for cell membranes and hormone synthesis)
3. HDLs - empty HDLs pick up cholesterol from tissues of the body and transport to liver
   * excess cholesterol is excreted via bile

Question 4

What is the exocrine function of the pancreas?

Answer 4

• Pancreatic juice is a mixture of water, salts, bicarbonate, and many different digestive enzymes.
  1. The bicarbonate ions present in pancreatic juice neutralize the acid in chyme
  2. Pancreatic amylase breaks large polysaccharides like starches and glycogen into smaller sugars such as maltose,
  3. Trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase are protein-digesting enzymes that break proteins
  4. Pancreatic lipase is a lipid-digesting enzyme that breaks large triglyceride molecules into fatty acids and monoglycerides. (lipase, bile salts)
  5. Ribonuclease and deoxyribonuclease are nucleases, or enzymes that digest nucleic acids