pancreas
[pan-kree-uh s, pang-]
- a gland, situated near the stomach, that secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.
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Compare islet of Langerhans, pancreatic juice.
Origin of pancreas
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pancreas
Contemporary Examples
The shot damaged his liver, lungs, pancreas and spleen and has left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The internal injuries cost him his spleen and part of his pancreas, but he could skate without those.
Eventually Jobs did have surgery, but by then it was too late—the cancer had spread beyond his pancreas.
Steve Jobs was right to be optimistic when, in 2004, he announced that he had cancer in his pancreas.
Jobs Authorized Bio For KidsOctober 7, 2011
The surgery removes the right side of the pancreas, the gallbladder, and parts of the stomach, bile duct, and small intestine.
Historical Examples
What does this great combination of powers in the pancreas mean?
A Handbook of HealthWoods Hutchinson
The gall bladder was filled with bile, and the pancreas indurated.
Cases of Organic Diseases of the HeartJohn Collins Warren
So late as 1840, there was yet no clear understanding of the action of the pancreas.
Experiments on AnimalsStephen Paget
The liver and spleen are generally normal, as is the pancreas.
Scurvy Past and PresentAlfred Fabian Hess
Cancer of the pancreas can cause severe depression and insomnia.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
pancreas
- a large elongated glandular organ, situated behind the stomach, that secretes insulin and pancreatic juice
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Word Origin
C16: via New Latin from Greek pankreas, from pan- + kreas flesh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pancreas
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pancreas
(păng′krē-əs)- A lobulated gland without a capsule, extending from the concavity of the duodenum to the spleen, consisting of a flattened head within the duodenal concavity, an elongated three-sided body extending across the abdomen, and a tail touching the spleen, and secreting insulin and glucagon internally and pancreatic juice externally into the intestine.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
pancreas
[păng′krē-əs]
- A long, irregularly shaped gland in vertebrate animals that is located behind the stomach and is part of the digestive system. It secretes hormones (insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin) into the bloodstream and digestive enzymes into the small intestine or gut. The pancreas also secretes sodium bicarbonate, which protects the lining of the intestine by neutralizing acids from the stomach.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pancreas
[(pang-kree-uhs, pan-kree-uhs)]
A gland behind the stomach that functions in both the endocrine system and the digestive system. Its endocrine function involves the secretion into the bloodstream of insulin, which regulates the level of sugars in the blood. As part of the digestive system, the pancreas secretes into the small intestine a fluid containing enzymes that is used in the digestion of all foods.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.