Pancreatic islets
| 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. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of the pancreas volume and receive 10–15% of its blood flow. The pancreatic islets are arranged in density routes throughout the human pancreas, and are important in the metabolism of glucose.