MH 131 Pancreas

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Exocrine Pancreas

The pancreas is an exocrine gland (~98%) with small islands of endocrine tissue (islets of Langerhans, 1 to 2%).

Stroma
- - connective tissue covers the exterior surface.
- Lobules and Lobes - divided by thin layers of connective tissue.
- and (and ganglion cells).
Parenchyma
- - arranged as of pyramidal serous cells. These polarized cells have rough endoplasmic reticulum at their base (basophilic) and secretion granules (eosinophilic) at their apex.
- Intralobular Ducts - ducts within a lobule.
  - Ducts start within an acinus and lead into short, with a simple cuboidal epithelium.
    - - duct cells located within an acinus. (The nuclei of three centroacinar cells are seen in the acinus at the center.)
  - Intercalated Ducts - and longitudinal sections (,) with simple cuboidal epithelium.
  - Intralobular Ducts ( and ) - leave the lobule and drain into interlobular ducts.
  - There are no striated (secretory) ducts in the pancreas.
- - ducts located outside of a lobule.
  - - can have a simple columnar, stratified columnar or stratified cuboidal epithelium.
  - Supported by a thick layer of
- Islets of Langerhans (,,) - lightly stained clusters of endocrine cells (see Chapter 13).

Red blood cells present in ducts is a post-mortem artifact.