Question

What is pancreas? Mention the major secretions of pancreas that are helpful in digestion.

Answer 1

Pancreas:

Pancreas is a heterocrine gland with both exocrine and endocrine properties, present behind the stomach discharging its secretion into the duodenum through the hepatopancreatic duct.

Pancreatic secretions helping in digestion:

The pancreatic juice produced by the pancreas contains the following:-
●Proteolytic enzymes:
○Trypsinogen
○Chymotrypsinogen
○Procarboxypeptidase
●Amylases
●Lipases
●Nucleases
●H2O and
●Inorganic salts (chiefly bicarbonate) which give it an alkaline pH.
The digestion of the following takes place:-
●Proteins and polypeptides are digested by the proteolytic enzymes to form dipeptides



●Starch is digested by
amylase to disaccharides.


●Fats is digested by lipases into mono and diglycerides


●Nucleic acids is digested to nucleotides by nucleases.