"An Organ of Many Talents, at the Root of Serious Ills" -2

"An Organ of Many Talents, at the Root of Serious Ills" #2
The New York Times. Retrieved at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/science/15angi.html?scp=1&sq=an%20organ%20of%20many%20talents&st=cse
By NATALIE ANGIER
Published: September 14, 2009

One of the organs with some of the biggest medical crises in America is an organ that many would never expect. The pancreas lies deep within the abdominal wall and lies between the stomach and the spinal cord. It lies horizontally right above the waistline, with one end that lies tucked into the stomach and the other end up against the duodenum of the small intestines. Many don’t know the purpose and function of the pancreas, when it is one of the most important things in the human body. The pancreas is both an exocrine gland and an endocrine gland. Where it produces milk that flows through the ducts in the breasts and also produces humans to perspire through the sweat glands. It then also produces internal secretions such as certain hormones and secretes it into the bloodstream. About 90% percent is based on its exocrinic role of breaking down food with certain digestive enzymes and then sending it on through to the small intestines. The other 10% of the pancreas’s function consists of certain types of cells that synthesize insulin and glucagons to regulate blood sugar in the body. Having any type of break down of the pancreas could cause one some serious problems. People with Type 1 diabetes, they have the problem that the specific cells that produce insulin are killed off and they need lifelong injections of insulin. Type 2 diabetes in adults also have problems with insulin but can be reduced through exercise and proper dieting. If diabetes is not the problem, then cancer could be the big one. It is difficult for doctors to detect pancreatic cancer early on, and by the time it is found, usually the cancer has already spread to other organs. Also, since most tumors are devascularized, chemotherapy treatment is rarely effective because none of the medicine that flows through the bloodstream can reach the tumor.