The pancreatic duct is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion provided by the "exocrine pancreas", 1903. From 'Surgical Anatomy: The Treatise of the Human Anatomy and Its Applications to the Practice of Medicine and Surgery, Volume III' (1903). The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct just prior to the ampulla of Vater, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum at the major duodenal papilla. The common bile ductis a tube-like anatomic structure in the human gastrointestinal tract. It is formed by the union of the common hepatic duct and the cystic duct (from the gall bladder). The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine. It precedes the jejunum and ileum and is the shortest part of the small intestine, where most chemical digestion takes place. The pancreas if a long, slender organ extending form the second portion if the duodenum through the epigastric region, to the hilum of the spleen, in the left hypochondriac region. (Photo by VintageMedStock/Getty Images)
