From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpancreaspan‧cre‧as /ˈpæŋkriəs/ noun [countable] HBHa gland inside your body, near your stomach, that produces insulin and a liquid that helps your body to use the food that you eat —pancreatic /ˌpæŋkriˈætɪk◂/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
pancreas• People who lack a pancreas, a second kidney, a small intestine, may not run marathons, but they live.• The number of viable acini isolated in pancreatitis induced by caerulein was only about 30% of that obtained from the intact pancreas.• We have recently shown in rat pancreas that adverse effects include pancreatic toxicity.• Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates how the body converts food into energy.• Glucagon is produced in the pancreas by the alpha cells.• One patient had colectomy for medical reasons, and another died of carcinoma of the pancreas.• There are, however, some differences in the action of caerulein and platelet activating factor on the pancreas.Origin pancreas (1500-1600) Modern Latin Greek pankreas, from pan- ( → PAN-) + kreas “flesh” 