The main pancreatic duct also known as the duct of Wirsung 13,14 runs through the center of the gland from left to right i. toward the duodenum. It drains most of the pancreas the embryological dorsal bud , except for the uncinate process and inferior aspect of the head.

The pancreatic duct typically joins the common bile duct at a degree angle at the hepatopancreatic ampulla, before draining into the ampulla of Vater through the Sphincter of Oddi. The pancreatic duct diameter typically measures up to 3 mm at the head, 2 mm in the body, and 1 mm in the tail The accessory pancreatic duct also known as the duct of Santorini or Bernard drains the uncinate process and lower part of the head of the migrated ventral pancreatic bud.

The accessory duct typically communicates with the main duct 13, Variants of the pancreas which result in ductal variations are covered in the pancreas article.

It results from the failure of fusion of dorsal and ventral pancreatic anlages. As a result, the dorsal pancreatic duct drains most of the pancreatic glandular parenchyma via the minor papilla. Although controversial, this variant is considered a cause of pancreatitis 1,3. Pancreatic divisum can result in a santorinicele 2 , which is a cystic dilatation of the distal dorsal duct, immediately proximal to the minor papilla.

Meandering main pancreatic duct MMPD comprises a reverse Z-type and loop-type of pancreatic ducts. Ansa pancreatica is a rare anatomic variation of the pancreatic ducts. It is a communication between the main pancreatic duct and the accessory pancreatic duct.

Anomalous pancreaticobiliary junction refers to the union of the pancreatic duct and common bile duct outside the duodenal wall. The duct of Wirsung was first reported in an etching by Johann Georg Wirsung , a German-Italian anatomist 8.

The accessory pancreatic duct of Santorini is named after Giovanni Domenico Santorini , an Italian professor of medicine 8. Anatomy: Abdominopelvic.

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About Recent Edits Go ad-free. Pancreatic ducts Last revised by Yuranga Weerakkody on 13 Feb Edit article. Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data. Gaillard F, Weerakkody Y, Jones J, et al. Pancreatic ducts. Reference article, Radiopaedia.

Article created:. At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures. Please Note: You can also scroll through stacks with your mouse wheel or the keyboard arrow keys. Updating… Please wait. Unable to process the form.

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About Recent Edits Go ad-free. Pancreatic duct diameter Last revised by Ciléin Kearns on 21 Jan Edit article. Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data. Weerakkody Y, Kearns C, Knipe H, et al. Pancreatic duct diameter.

Reference article, Radiopaedia. Article created:. At the time the article was created Yuranga Weerakkody had no recorded disclosures. View Yuranga Weerakkody's current disclosures. Last revised:. View Ciléin Kearns's current disclosures.

Diameter of pancreatic duct Diameter of the pancreatic duct Pancreatic ductal diameter Duct of Wirsung diameter. URL of Article. Gross anatomy The duct diameter is greatest at the head and neck region and is slightly narrower towards the body and tail.

Related pathology Abnormal dilatation of the pancreatic duct indicates obstruction of the normal flow of pancreatic secretions due to a distal i.

Hadidi A. The pancreas lies behind the lower part of the stomach. It makes enzymes that help digest food and hormones that help manage blood sugar. The most common type of pancreatic cancer is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

This type begins in the cells that line the ducts that carry digestive enzymes out of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer rarely is found at its early stages when the chance of curing it is greatest.

This is because it often doesn't cause symptoms until after it has spread to other organs. Your health care team considers the extent of your pancreatic cancer when creating your treatment plan. Treatment options may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a mix of these.

Pancreatic cancer often doesn't cause symptoms until the disease is advanced. When they happen, signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer may include:. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Subscribe for free and receive an in-depth guide to coping with cancer, plus helpful information on how to get a second opinion.

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Your in-depth coping with cancer guide will be in your inbox shortly. You will also receive emails from Mayo Clinic on the latest about cancer news, research, and care. It's not clear what causes pancreatic cancer. Doctors have found some factors that might raise the risk of this type of cancer.

These include smoking and having a family history of pancreatic cancer. The pancreas is about 6 inches 15 centimeters long and looks something like a pear lying on its side. It releases hormones, including insulin.

These hormones help the body process the sugar in the foods you eat. The pancreas also makes digestive juices to help the body digest food and take in nutrients. Pancreatic cancer happens when cells in the pancreas develop changes in their DNA.

A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell a cell what to do. In healthy cells, the instructions tell the cells to grow and multiply at a set rate. The cells die at a set time. In cancer cells, the changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to make many more cells quickly.

Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes there to be too many cells. The cancer cells might form a mass called a tumor.

The tumor can grow to invade and destroy healthy body tissue. In time, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. Most pancreatic cancer begins in the cells that line the ducts of the pancreas.

This type of cancer is called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or pancreatic exocrine cancer. Less often, cancer can form in the hormone-producing cells or the neuroendocrine cells of the pancreas. These types of cancer are called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or pancreatic endocrine cancer.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography ERCP uses a dye to highlight the bile ducts and pancreatic duct on X-ray images.

A thin, flexible tube with a camera on the end, called an endoscope, is passed down your throat and into your small intestine. The dye enters the ducts through a small hollow tube, called a catheter, passed through the endoscope.

Tiny tools passed through the catheter also can be used to remove gallstones. Pancreatic cancer that blocks the liver's bile duct can cause jaundice. Signs include yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. Jaundice can cause dark-colored urine and pale-colored stools.

Jaundice often occurs without belly pain. If the bile duct is blocked, a plastic or metal tube called a stent can be put inside it. The stent helps hold the bile duct open. This is done using a procedure called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, also called ERCP.

During ERCP , a health care professional puts a long tube with a tiny camera, called an endoscope, down the throat. The tube goes through the stomach and into the upper part of the small intestine.

The health professional puts a dye into the pancreatic ducts and bile ducts through a small tube that fits through the endoscope. The dye helps the ducts show up on imaging tests. The health professional uses those images to place a stent at the right spot in the duct to help hold it open.

A growing tumor may press on nerves in your abdomen, causing pain that can become severe. Pain medications can help you feel more comfortable. Treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, might help slow tumor growth and provide some pain relief.

When medicines aren't helping, a health care professional might suggest a celiac plexus block. This procedure uses a needle to put alcohol into the nerves that control pain in the belly. The alcohol stops the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.

Bowel blockage. Pancreatic cancer can grow into or press on the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. This can block the flow of digested food from the stomach into the intestines. A health care professional might suggest putting a tube called a stent in the small intestine to hold it open.

Sometimes, it might help to have surgery to place a feeding tube. Or surgery can attach the stomach to a lower part of the intestines where the cancer isn't causing a blockage. Screening uses tests to look for signs of pancreatic cancer in people who don't have symptoms.

It might be an option if you have a very high risk of pancreatic cancer. Your risk might be high if you have a strong family history of pancreatic cancer or if you have an inherited DNA change that increases the risk of cancer. Pancreatic cancer screening might involve imaging tests, such as MRI and ultrasound.

These tests are generally repeated every year. The goal of screening is to find pancreatic cancer when it's small and most likely to be cured.

Research is ongoing, so it's not yet clear whether screening can lower the risk of dying of pancreatic cancer.

There are risks to screening. This includes the chance of finding something that requires surgery but later turns out to not be cancer.

Talk about the benefits and risks of pancreatic cancer screening with your health care team. Together you can decide whether screening is right for you.

If you have a family history of pancreatic cancer, discuss it with a health care professional. The health professional can review your family history and help you understand whether genetic testing might be right for you.

Genetic testing can find DNA changes that run in families and increase the risk of cancer. If you're interested in genetic testing, you might be referred to a genetic counselor or other health care professional trained in genetics. Pancreatic cancer care at Mayo Clinic.

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