Ox, sheep and goat

PANCREAS (OX, SHEEP AND GOAT)

Ox

  • It is commonly known as sweetbread or abdominal salivary gland
  • The pancreas is a racemose gland mostly at the right of the median plane and it is attached to the visceral surface of the liver by the mesentery
  • When fresh it is reddish cream in colour and resembles salivary gland in appearance. It weighs about 350 gm. and is irregularly quadrilateral in outline
  • It presents two surfaces, four borders and four angles. The dorsal surface is attached to the liver and diaphragm and mostly covered by peritoneum
  • The dorsal surface is related to the liver, ventral face of right kidney and right adrenal, coeliac, cranial mesenteric artery
  • The right side is much larger than the left side and extends backwards beyond the liver to be included in the mesoduodenum and is in contact with the upper part of the flank at lumbo-costal angle. Between these attachments it is free and forms the ventral wall of epiploic foramen
  • The ventral surface faces downward and is normally in contact with the dorsal curvature of rumen and the intestine.
  • The right border is longest of the 4 borders and nearly straight and is related to the second part of duodenum
  • The left border is short, concave and related to the rumen and splenic vessels
  • The cranial border is also nearly straight, shorter than the right and is situated across the liver at the level of the portal fissure. The caudal border is irregular, and presents a deep notch through which the portal vein passes obliquely to the portal fissure of the liver.
  • The duodenal or antero-lateral angle is at the level where the duodenum forms a ‘S’ shaped bend
  • The postero-lateral angle is near the iliac flexure of the duodenum and from this angle the pancreatic duct leaves the gland and opens into the duodenum close to the iliac flexure
  • The antero-medial angle is at the level where the splenic vessels pass between it and the liver
  • The postero-medial angle forms the left extremity of the gland and is related to the rumen
  • There is only one pancreatic duct, which leaves the gland at the postero-lateral angle

Sheep and Goat

  • It is arranged as in ox. Its duct unites with the bile duct
Last modified: Friday, 20 April 2012, 10:33 AM