The ventral and dorsal pancreatic buds (or pancreatic diverticula) are outgrowths of the
duodenum
The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear, and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine m ...
during human
embryogenesis
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
. They join to form the adult
pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
.
The proximal portion of the dorsal pancreatic bud gives rise to the
accessory pancreatic duct
The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung (also, the major pancreatic duct due to the existence of an accessory pancreatic duct), is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct. This supplies it with pancreatic juice from the exocrine pancre ...
, while the distal portion of the dorsal pancreatic bud and ventral pancreatic bud give rise to the major
pancreatic duct
The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung (also, the major pancreatic duct due to the existence of an accessory pancreatic duct), is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct. This supplies it with pancreatic juice from the exocrine pancr ...
.
The
ventral
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...
pancreatic bud develops into the pancreatic head and
uncinate process.
Associated Disorders
In
pancreas divisum
Pancreatic divisum is a congenital anomaly in the anatomy of the ducts of the pancreas in which a single pancreatic duct is not formed, but rather remains as two distinct dorsal and ventral ducts. Most individuals with pancreas divisum remain with ...
the ducts of the pancreas are not fused to form a full pancreas, but instead it remains as a distinct dorsal and ventral duct. Without the proper fusion of both ducts the majority of the pancreas drainage is mainly through the accessory papilla. Three different variations in pancreas divisum have been described: the first is the classic example of pancreas divisum in which the ventral duct is visualized but there is total failure of fusion; the second variation is with the absence of a ventral duct; and the third variation is when there is very basic communication between the two ducts.
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...
is a major complication of pancreas divisum.
Additional images
File:Gray1101.png, Pancreas of a human embryo of five weeks.
File:Gray1102.png, Pancreas of a human embryo at end of the sixth week.
References
External links
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Embryology of digestive system
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