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The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung, is a duct joining the pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
 to the common bile duct
Common bile duct

Bile, which is synthesized in the liver, is carried via the right and left hepatic ducts, with both converging to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct opens at the lower end of the common hepatic duct forming the common bile duct....
 to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 provided by the "exocrine pancreas". The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct
Common bile duct

Bile, which is synthesized in the liver, is carried via the right and left hepatic ducts, with both converging to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct opens at the lower end of the common hepatic duct forming the common bile duct....
 just prior to the ampulla of Vater, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum
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 may be used instead of duodenum....
 at the major duodenal papilla
Major duodenal papilla

The common bile duct and the pancreatic duct together perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum obliquely, some 7 to 10 cm below the pylorus, forming a structure called the major duodenal papilla....
.

The duct of Wirsung is named after its discoverer, German anatomist Johann Georg Wirsung
Johann Georg Wirsung

Johann Georg Wirsung was a German anatomist who was a long-time Prosector in Padua.He is remembered for the discovery of the pancreatic duct during the dissection of a man who had been recently hanged for murder....
 (1589-1643).

people have just one pancreatic duct.






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The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung, is a duct joining the pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
 to the common bile duct
Common bile duct

Bile, which is synthesized in the liver, is carried via the right and left hepatic ducts, with both converging to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct opens at the lower end of the common hepatic duct forming the common bile duct....
 to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 provided by the "exocrine pancreas". The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct
Common bile duct

Bile, which is synthesized in the liver, is carried via the right and left hepatic ducts, with both converging to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct opens at the lower end of the common hepatic duct forming the common bile duct....
 just prior to the ampulla of Vater, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum
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 may be used instead of duodenum....
 at the major duodenal papilla
Major duodenal papilla

The common bile duct and the pancreatic duct together perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum obliquely, some 7 to 10 cm below the pylorus, forming a structure called the major duodenal papilla....
.

The duct of Wirsung is named after its discoverer, German anatomist Johann Georg Wirsung
Johann Georg Wirsung

Johann Georg Wirsung was a German anatomist who was a long-time Prosector in Padua.He is remembered for the discovery of the pancreatic duct during the dissection of a man who had been recently hanged for murder....
 (1589-1643).

Accessory pancreatic duct

Most people have just one pancreatic duct. However, some have an additional accessory pancreatic duct
Accessory pancreatic duct

Most people have just one pancreatic duct. However, some have an additional accessory pancreatic duct, called the Duct of Santorini, which connects straight to the duodenum at the minor duodenal papilla....
, called the Duct of Santorini.

Clinical significance

Compression, obstruction or inflammation of the pancreatic duct may lead to acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Depending on its severity, it can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment....
. The most common cause for obstruction is choledocholithiasis
Choledocholithiasis

Choledocholithiasis is the presence of gallstones in the common bile duct. This condition causes jaundice and liver cell damage, and is a medical emergency, requiring the ERCP procedure or cholecystectomy treatment....
, or gallstone
Gallstone

In medicine, gallstones are crystalline bodies formed within the body by accretion or concretion of normal or abnormal bile component.Gallstones can occur anywhere within the biliary tree, including the gallbladder and the common bile duct....
s in the common bile duct
Common bile duct

Bile, which is synthesized in the liver, is carried via the right and left hepatic ducts, with both converging to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct opens at the lower end of the common hepatic duct forming the common bile duct....
. A gallstone may get lodged in the constricted distal end of the ampulla of Vater, where it blocks the flow of both bile
Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter yellow or green fluid secreted by hepatocytes from the liver of most vertebrates. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder between meals and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum where the bile aids the process of digestion of lipids....
 and pancreatic juice
Pancreatic juice

Pancreatic juice is a liquid secreted by the pancreas, which contains a variety of enzymes, including trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, elastase, carboxypeptidase, pancreatic lipase, and amylase....
 into the duodenum. Bile backing up into the pancreatic duct may initiate pancreatitis.

Pancreatic ductal carcinoma
Pancreatic ductal carcinoma

Pancreatic ductal carcinoma is a form of pancreatic cancer of the pancreatic duct.An association with p16INK4a has been identified.It is one of the leading causes of cancer death....
 is a common form of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a cancer of the pancreas. Each year in the United States, about 37,680 individuals are diagnosed with this condition and 34,290 die from the disease each year....
.

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