File:Pancreatic duct developing.jpg

Fig. 1101. Pancreas of a human embryo of five weeks

(Kollmann)

Pancreatic Duct

The initial formation of the pancreas as two separate lobes each with their own duct that fuses leads a range of anatomical variations in the adult exocrine pancreatic duct. Pancreatic duct five variation classification: common, ansa pancreatica, branch fusion, looped, and separated. Accessory pancreatic duct (APD, of Santorini) in the embryo is the main drainage duct of the dorsal pancreatic bud emptying into the minor duodenal papilla. In the adult it has been further classified as either long-type (joins main pancreatic duct at pancreas neck portion) and short-type (joins main pancreatic duct near first inferior branch).

Main Pancreatic Duct

• (MPD or Wirsung's duct) forms within the dorsal pancreatic bud and is present in the body and tail of the pancreas.
• Discovered by Johann Georg Wirsung (1589 - 1643) a German physician who worked as a prosector in Padua.

Accessory Pancreatic Duct

• (APD or Santorini’s duct) is present mainly in the head of the pancreas.
• Originally dissected and delineated by Giovanni Domenico Santorini (1681 - 1737) an Italian anatomist.

• Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a medical procedure which allows an injected dye to display the duct system on an x ray (pancreatograms).