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 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 ...

to the

common bile duct The common bile duct, sometimes abbreviated as CBD, is a duct in the gastrointestinal tract of organisms that have a gallbladder. It is formed by the confluence of the common hepatic duct and cystic duct and terminates by uniting with pancrea ...

. This supplies it with pancreatic juice from the

exocrine 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 endocr ...

, which aids in

digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...

Structure

The pancreatic duct joins the

just prior to the

ampulla of Vater The ampulla of Vater, also known as the or the hepatopancreatic duct, is formed by the union of the pancreatic duct and the common bile duct. The ampulla is specifically located at the major duodenal papilla. The ampulla of Vater is an imp ...

, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion 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 ...

at the major duodenal papilla. There are many anatomical variants reported, but these are quite rare.

Accessory pancreatic duct

Most people have just one pancreatic duct. However, some have an additional accessory pancreatic duct, also called the Duct of Santorini. An accessory pancreatic duct can be functional or non-functional. It may open separately into the second part of the duodenum,Moore KL, Dalley AF. 2006. Clinically Oriented Anatomy. 5th Ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p 287.1. Mchonde GJ, Gesase AP. Termination pattern of main and accessory pancreatic ducts among Tanzanians. Anatomy Journal of Africa. 2014; 3(1):223–227. which is dorsal, and usually (in 70% of people) drains into the

via the

minor duodenal papilla The minor duodenal papilla is the opening of the accessory pancreatic duct into the descending second section of the duodenum. Structure The minor duodenal papilla is contained within the second part of the duodenum. It is situated 2 cm prox ...

. In the other 30% of people, it drains into the main pancreatic duct, which drains into the duodenum via the major duodenal papilla. The main pancreatic duct and the accessory duct both eventually—either directly or indirectly—connect to the second part ('D2', the vertical segment) of the

. It is named for

Giovanni Domenico Santorini Giovanni Domenico Santorini (June 6, 1681 – May 7, 1737) was an Italian anatomist. He was a native of Venice, earning his medical doctorate at Pisa in 1701. He is remembered for conducting anatomical dissections of the human body. From 1705 unt ...

. File:Formation_of_an_accessory_pancreatic_duct_en.svg, Formation of an accessory pancreatic duct

Clinical significance

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

acute pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disea ...

. The most common cause for obstruction is the presence of

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...

s in the

, a condition called choledocholithiasis. Obstruction can also be due to duodenal inflammation in

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distensi ...

. A gallstone may get lodged in the constricted distal end of the

, where it blocks the flow of both

bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bi ...

and pancreatic juice into the duodenum. Bile backing up into the pancreatic duct may initiate pancreatitis. The pancreatic duct is generally regarded as abnormally enlarged if being over 3 mm in the head and 2 mm in the body or tail on CT scan. Pancreatic duct or parts of pancreatic duct can be demonstrated on ultrasound in 75 to 85% of people. Pancreatic ductal carcinoma is a common form of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancr ...

History

The pancreatic duct is also called the duct of Wirsung. This is named after its discoverer, the German

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

Johann Georg Wirsung Johann Georg Wirsung (July 3, 1589 Augsburg – August 22, 1643 Padua) was a German anatomist who was a long-time prosector in Padua. He is remembered for the discovery of the pancreatic duct ("duct of Wirsung") during the dissection of a ...

(1589–1643).

Additional images

File:ERCP Roentgen.jpg, ERCP image showing the pancreatic duct and biliary tree. File:Digestive system showing bile duct.svg, Accessory digestive system. File:Gray1057.png, Interior of the descending portion of the duodenum, showing bile papilla. File:Gray1101.png, Pancreas of a human embryo of five weeks. File:Gray1102.png, Pancreas of a human embryo at end of sixth week. File:Slide52uru.JPG, Pancreatic duct Deep dissection.Anterior view. File:Ultrasonography of dilated pancreatic duct.jpg, Ultrasonography of a dilated pancreatic duct (in this case 9mm) due to

References

{{Authority control Pancreas anatomy