Why Is Pancreas Important

There is another accessory organ that also dumps its products into the duodenum around the same area; this organ is called pancreas. Pancreas is very important, as it secretes probably the most important digestive enzymes into the small intestine; break down. The main enzymes secreted by the pancreas for digestion are lipases for lipid/fat digestion, pancreatic amylase for carbohydrate digestion which continues the breakdown of the starch in the bread to a substance called maltose. As the food is further pushed along the small intestine it produces maltase which breaks down the maltose into an even smaller molecule called glucose. Another enzyme called protease - in the form of trypsin and chymotrypsin - are used in the digestion of protein to amino acids. In addition, the
Inside each of the villi – the finger like projections – is a system called the central lacteal, a projection of the lymphatic system. The fats that are in the lumen of the tube, have been emulsified by the bile, they have been broken down into smaller pieces by the gastric lipase and the salivary lipase and the pancreatic lipase – All of these small units of fat – chylomicrons - are going to be absorbed into the central lacteal through their pores and passed into the lymphatic vessel system.
In each of the villi, there is also a little capillary network, which surrounds each of the central lacteals bringing blood toward the villus and also carrying blood away. The proteins and the carbohydrates are going to be absorbed through the much smaller pores directly into the bloodstream, into the capillary network. This is how the small, broken down particles of the food that we eat enters the villi, diffuse into blood vessels and then enter our