Pancreas of different animals
Pancreas of animals – Ox, Sheep, Goat, horse, pig, dog, rabbit, fowl – is a Abdominal salivary gland.
Pancreas of Ox
Pancreas of Ox is commonly known as sweetbread or abdominal salivary gland
The pancreas is a racemose gland mostly at the right of the median plane and it is attached to the visceral surface of the liver by the mesentery.
When fresh it is reddish cream in colour and resembles salivary gland in appearance. It weighs about 350 gm. and is irregularly quadrilateral in outline.
It presents two surfaces, four borders and four angles. The dorsal surface is attached to the liver and diaphragm and mostly covered by peritoneum
The dorsal surface is related to the liver, ventral face of right kidney and right adrenal, coeliac, cranial mesenteric artery.
The right side is much larger than the left side and extends backwards beyond the liver to be included in the mesoduodenum and is in contact with the upper part of the flank at lumbo-costal angle. Between these attachments it is free and forms the ventral wall of epiploic foramen.
The ventral surface faces downward and is normally in contact with the dorsal curvature of rumen and the intestine.
The right border is longest of the 4 borders and nearly straight and is related to the second part of duodenum. The left border is short, concave and related to the rumen and splenic vessels. The cranial border is also nearly straight, shorter than the right and is situated across the liver at the level of the portal fissure. The caudal border is irregular, and presents a deep notch through which the portal vein passes obliquely to the portal fissure of the liver.
The duodenal or antero-lateral angle is at the level where the duodenum forms a ‘S’ shaped bend. The postero-lateral angle is near the iliac flexure of the duodenum and from this angle the pancreatic duct leaves the gland and opens into the duodenum close to the iliac flexure. The antero-medial angle is at the level where the splenic vessels pass between it and the liver.
The postero-medial angle forms the left extremity of the gland and is related to the rumen. There is only one pancreatic duct, which leaves the gland at the postero-lateral angle.
Pancreas of Sheep and Goat
Pancreas of sheep and Goat is arranged as in ox. Its duct unites with the bile duct.
Pancreas of Horse
Pancreas gland of horse is triangular in outline with the apex cranial. It weighs about 350 gm.
The dorsal surface is related to the liver, right kidney, caudal vena cava and portal vein. The ventral face is related to the caecum, great colon and small colon. The right border is related to the second part of duodenum. The left border is related to the first part of duodenum and left end of stomach. The caudal border is notched for the caudal vena cava.
The cranial or duodenal angle is attached to the concavity of the second curve of duodenum and the ducts leave the gland at this level
The left or splenic angle fits into the space between the saccus caecus of stomach in front, left kidney behind, spleen dorsally and great colon ventrally. The right angle is rounded and lies at the ventral face of the right kidney.
There are 2 ducts –major and minor. The major duct opens along with the bile duct in the diverticulum duodeni about 15 cm from the pylorus. The minor duct opens into the duodenum on a papilla opposite to the opening of the chief duct.
Pancreas of Pig
Pancreas of Pig is triangular in outline.
The left lobe is related to stomach and the right lobe is attached to the duodenum. The parenchyma contains large quantity of fat. The duct passes from the right extremity directly through the duodenal wall, opening about 4 or 5 inches from the pylorus.
Pancreas of Dog
The pancreas of dog is a V shaped consisting of two branches – right and left, meeting at an acute angle behind pylorus. The right branch extends backwards above the first part of the duodenum and ends a short distance behind the right kidney.
The left branch passes to the left and backwards between the stomach and transverse colon and ends at the cranial pole of the left kidney. There are two ducts. The major duct opens separately into the duodenum behind the opening of the bile duct. The minor duct unites with the bile duct.
Pancreas of Rabbit
Pancreas of Rabbit is a diffuse and delicate gland in this animal. The gland is situated in the fold of mesentery passing across the loops of duodenum. The duct is single.
Pancreas of Fowl
The pancreas of fowl is a long narrow lobulated yellowish red gland, which is situated in the loop formed between the two parts of duodenum. Two or three ducts open into the duodenum close to the opening of the bile ducts.
