islet of Langerhans
[lahng-er-hahns, -hahnz, lahng-ger-]
- any of several masses of endocrine cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin, somatostatin, and glucagon.
Show More
Origin of islet of Langerhans
named after Paul Langerhans (1847–88), German anatomist, who described them in 1869
Also called island of Langerhans.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018