The Pancreas Or Sweetbread* is a compound racemose gland. It is an elongated soft organ of a pinkish-yellow color, lying along the lower border of the stomach. Its right end is embraced by the duodenum which there makes a curve to the left. A duct traverses it and joins the common bile-duct close to its intestinal opening. The pancreas secretes a watery-looking liquid, much like saliva in appearance, which is of great importance in digestion.

With what fact is the large size of the liver connected? What are its functions?

To what group of glands does the pancreas belong? Describe its form and color. Where is it placed? What does its duct unite with? What does its secretion look like? Is it of much value?

* Butchers sell two kinds of sweetbread, known as the belly sweetbread and the neck or heart sweetbread. The former is the pancreas; the latter is the thymus, an organ of doubtful function, found only in young animals, and lying at the bottom of the neck and upper part of the chest in front of the windpipe.