166 



FUNCTIONS OF NUTRITION. 



right-hand extremity in contact with the duodenum. It is traversed 

 longitudinally by a main excretory duct, receiving, as it passes from left 

 to right, lateral branches from the glandular lobules, and opening into 

 the duodenum next to the orifice of the common biliary duct, about ten 

 centimetres below the pylorus. Its secretion thus mingles with the 

 products of stomach digestion, almost immediately after they have 

 passed into the duodenum. 



FIG. 25. 



PORTION OF HUMAN PANCREAS AND DUODENUM. . Cavity of duodenum, b. Orifice of the pan- 

 creatic duct. c. Orifice of lower pancreatic duct. (Bernard.) 



The arrangement of the gland and its duct, in the lower animals, is 

 in most respects similar to the above. In the dog and cat, there are 

 two ducts opening into the intestine, one in juxtaposition with the 

 biliary duct, the other from one to three centimetres farther down. 

 The lower duct is usually in these animals, though not always, the 

 larger of the two, and they generally communicate with each other in 

 the substance of the gland by a transverse branch. Even in man, as 

 shown by Bernard, Kolliker, and Sappey (Fig. 25), there js_of ten a 

 small accessory duct opening into the intestine, sometimes above and 

 sometimes below the principal excretory orifice. The most marked pe- 

 culiarity of these parts is in the rabbit, where the single pancreatic duct 

 opens into the intestine 30 or 40 centimetres below the biliary duct. 



The pancreatic juice is obtained from the living animal by opening 

 the abdomen, and inserting a canula into the main pancreatic duct, 

 immediately before its entrance into the intestine. The canula being 

 secured in position by a ligature placed around the duct, the parts are 

 returned to the abdominal cavity, the external wound closed with 



