| Pancreatic islets | |
|---|---|
 | |
 A pancreatic islet from a mouse in a typical position, close to a blood vessel; insulin in red, nuclei in blue. | |
| Details | |
| Part of | Pancreas |
| System | Endocrine |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | insulae pancreaticae |
| MeSH | D007515 |
| TA98 | A05.9.01.019 |
| TA2 | 3128 |
| FMA | 16016 |
| Anatomical terms of microanatomy | |
The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans.[1] The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of the pancreas volume and receive 10–15% of its blood flow.[2][3] The pancreatic islets are arranged in density routes throughout the human pancreas, and are important in the metabolism of glucose.[4]
- ^ Langerhans P (1869). "Beitrage zur mikroscopischen anatomie der bauchspeichel druse". Inaugural-dissertation. Berlin: Gustav Lange.
- ^ Barrett KE, Boitano S, Barman SM, Brooks HL (2009-07-22). Ganong's review of medical physiology (23 ed.). McGraw Hill Medical. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-07-160568-7.
- ^ Functional Anatomy of the Endocrine Pancreas
- ^ Pour PM, Standop J, Batra SK (January 2002). "Are islet cells the gatekeepers of the pancreas?". Pancreatology. 2 (5): 440–448. doi:10.1159/000064718. PMID 12378111. S2CID 37257345.