Pancreas divisum

Pancreas divisum is one of several known developmental anomalies of the pancreas. The pancreas normally develops in two parts - ventral and dorsal. The ventral part wraps around the duodenum and, after fusion, forms the lower part of the head of the pancreas. The upper part of the head of the pancreas, the whole body and the cauda arise from the dorsal part. In pancreas divisum, there is no connection of the outlet draining the pancreatic juices from the body and the tail of the pancreas to the ductus pancreaticus major (duct of Wirsung), which opens into the papilla of Vater, and thus it drains only the original ventral segment. Thus, most of the pancreatic juice is drained by the ductus pancreaticus accessorius (duct of Santorini), which empties over the papilla of Vater. Papilla duodeni minor (Santorini) is usually narrow and due to the increased outflow of juices, pancreatic secretions can become stuck here, making the pancreas divisum a predisposition for pancreatitis.

Related articles

 * Annular pancreas
 * Pancreas
 * Congenital malformations

Source

 * VOKURKA, Martin, et al. Great medical dictionary. 7th edition. Prague: Maxdorf, 2007.  ISBN 978-80-7345-130-1.



Category Internal medicine