Role Of Pancreas In Human Body – Shin Hamada Tohoku University, Japan Jami Saloman Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, United States
This review aims to analyze the scientific literature on pancreatic diseases (especially exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). This review also describes the relationship between pancreatic physiological fitness and obesity. The influence of pancreatic exocrine function on body development in adults and adolescents has also been described. The results of pig studies available in the literature have been cited as a well-established model used to improve treatments for pancreatic diseases in humans. The pancreas has an excretory and hormonal function. Hence, it is one of the major internal organs in animals and humans. Pancreatic diseases are usually severe and particularly troublesome. A properly composed diet and taking nutritional supplements significantly improves the patient’s health, as well as the course of the disease. Therefore, following a healthy diet and lifestyle positively affects maintaining optimal physiological efficiency of the pancreas.
Role Of Pancreas In Human Body
The pancreas is a glandular organ that affects the functioning of the entire body. Emergent pancreatic insufficiency is the inability of the pancreas to biosynthesise and/or secrete digestive enzymes in sufficient quantity to digest and absorb food components in the intestine. Insufficiency usually occurs as a result of damage to the pancreas, which can be caused by a variety of clinical conditions, for example, recurrent acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, after pancreatectomy. It happens that this failure is the result of pancreatic or gastrointestinal cancer. In children, it is often associated with cystic fibrosis (about 90% of patients) or a rare genetic disease such as Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. Pancreatic insufficiency usually manifests itself as malabsorption, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and weight loss (or failure to gain weight in children). Treatment focuses on treating the root cause, preventing further damage to the pancreas, and relieving symptoms.
What Does The Pancreas Do And Why Is It So Important?
In this paper, the authors present the impact of pancreatic dysfunction on the organisms of higher mammals. Based on the analysis of the literature, the influence of pancreatic exocrine function on the development of the adult and adolescent organism is described. Individual diseases that directly affect pancreatic health are listed and briefly described. The relationship between pancreatic disease and factors such as diet, lifestyle, and obesity is also discussed.
Anatomically, the pancreas is divided into the head, body, and tail (Figure 1). The pancreatic parenchyma has a lobular structure and contains numerous secretory vesicles, which make up 80-85% of the mass of the organ. Excretory ducts are very important for the functioning of the pancreas. Each bubble contains an outgoing wire that connects to the others and connects to the main channel. The main duct is the pancreatic duct, which begins at the tail of the pancreas, runs along the entire length of the organ, and finally enters the duodenum through the greater papilla (vatera). Apart from that, there is also an accessory pancreatic duct, which in about 70% of people connects to the pancreatic duct, and finally, the substance secreted by the pancreas, which is transported through both ducts, goes to the so-called greater duodenal papilla. In the histological structure of the pancreas, two basic elements are distinguished: pancreatic islets (or islets of Langerhans – their number may reach 2 million and they produce pancreatic hormones) and exocrine cells, which make up the rest of the organ and are responsible for secreting pancreatic juice and pancreatic enzymes.
The pancreas has two basic and very important functions in the body: endocrine (production of hormones that regulate blood sugar levels and glandular secretion) and endocrine (digestive gland function) (Yamada et al., 2005). Endocrine activity is carried out by the islets of Langerhans and includes the production of hormones such as insulin, proinsulin, amylin, C-peptide, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), and glucagon. Insulin helps lower blood sugar, and glucagon causes blood sugar to rise. On the other hand, exocrine activity consists of the production of enzymes that form part of the alkaline osmotic pancreatic juice and support the digestion of food in the intestine. The cells inside the vein produce the enzymatic components of the juice, which are directed to the duodenum via the pancreatic ducts. In addition, mucus is secreted into the pancreatic ducts through goblet cells. The composition of pancreatic juice includes enzymes that digest proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids, as well as electrolytes and a small amount of mucus (Dąbrowski et al., 2007).
Enzymes such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase and elastase belong to the group of proteolytic enzymes (they digest proteins). Trypsin and chymotrypsin are secreted in the form of primary enzymes: trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen. Pancreatic lipolytic enzymes are lipase, phospholipase, and esterase, which digest fats. The enzymes of glycolysis (digesting carbohydrates) are lactase and amylase, which break down starch into maltose, maltotriose, and dextrin. Nucleolytic enzymes include ribonuclease and deoxyribonuclease, which break down nucleic acids into mononucleotides and oligonucleotides. Food consumption and neurohormonal mechanisms regulate the secretion of digestive enzymes. The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice in an amount of about 1-4 liters per day, and this amount depends on the food consumed.
Accessory Organs In Digestion: The Liver, Pancreas, And Gallbladder
The central nervous system and hormones regulate pancreatic exocrine function. Hormones such as secretin and cholecystokinin (CCK) are thought to be the main intestinal hormones that regulate the secretion of pancreatic digestive enzymes ( Morissette, 2020 ). Secretin is released from enteroendocrine cells in the small intestine, and CCK is released from the duodenum and jejunum in the presence of fats and proteins from ingested food. Cabeca et al. (2018) described the effect of ostatin (a hormone produced in specialized cells in the stomach and small intestine of many animals, including humans) on pancreatic exocrine secretion in rats. They found that this hormone can stimulate the secretion of pancreatic juice through two opposing mechanisms.
For a long time, scientists have been trying to better understand the impact of the physiological functions of the pancreas on the human body. The recognized model closest to humans is the pig model. CCK has also been shown to be a master regulator of pancreatic exocrine function in pigs, despite the lack of CCK receptors (Schweiger et al., 2000; Morisset et al., 2003). It has also been observed that pancreatic growth in pigs appears to be more dependent on diet change at weaning than on age (Pierzynowski et al., 1993). Piglet milk consumption results in an increase in postprandial glucose, but not in insulin (Pierzynowski et al., 1995). Therefore, it can be concluded that milk can regulate the exocrine function of the pancreas by producing the amount and type of enzymes needed for digestion. In the available literature, some reports indicate a positive correlation between pancreatic exocrine function and weight gain both in suckling pigs (van den Born et al., 2007) and in piglets (Botermans and Pierzynowski, 1999; Pierzynowski et al., 2005). Berzinovsky et al. conducted an experiment on piglets, where they observed in 7 out of 10 piglets tested, with increased body weight, an increase in exocrine pancreatic secretion and exocrine pancreatic secretion was greater after a meal than before a meal (Flegal et al., 2010). Disturbances in digestion and feed absorption in pigs infected with Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) lead to slowed growth of the animal. However, as pigs age, the influence of pancreatic exocrine function on the growth of the organism decreases. Gregory et al. found that in pigs with a body weight of ∼30 kg, EPI causes complete stunting ( Gregory et al., 1999 ), and Coring and Bourdon (1977) observed only a 25% growth retardation in pigs tethered at 40 kg. Berzinovsky et al. (1990) conducted studies on the development and exocrine function of the pancreas in pigs. The experiment consists of monitoring gastric secretion and secretion of total protein and trypsin before and after feeding during the first thirteen weeks of the animal’s life (Pierzynowski et al., 1990). The results of the studies showed that basal pancreatic function and exocrine response to feeding remained low until the age of 4-5 weeks. Only after weaning of the piglets did pancreatic juice secretion and trypsin secretion and activity increase significantly. It was also noted that the enzymatic composition of pancreatic juice changed qualitatively during this period. Furthermore, intravenous administration of cholecystokinin (CCK) and secretin did not stimulate exocrine function during the first 2 weeks of life, whereas a significant effect was observed from 3 to 4 weeks of age. Thus, during individual development, they found an increase in exocrine pancreatic function and a qualitative change in the pattern of hydrolytic enzymes. They also observed an increase in the pancreas’s response to hormonal stimulation during the feeding period.
Fedkiv et al. (2009) investigated the growth performance of pigs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) at different ages. They experimented with twelve 7-week-old pigs and twelve 16-week-old pigs during the fattening period. Six pigs from each group underwent pancreatic duct ligation surgery. They monitored the animals’ growth and recorded the consumption of enriched pig feed (Creon
10000). They observed that EPI caused growth inhibition in
Pancreas: Anatomy, Functions, Blood Supply, Innervation
Role of pancreas in diabetes, location of pancreas in human body, function of pancreas in human body, pancreas image in human body, pancreas of human body, position of pancreas in human body, role of pancreas in body, role of pancreas, role of pancreas in digestion, diagram of pancreas in human body, images of pancreas in human body, show pancreas in human body