SURGICAL PROFESSORIAL UNIT, ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITALOPERATIONS on the pancreas are being undertaken with increasing frequency, and the vascular arrangements in and around the gland have now considerable surgical importance.The arteries have been exhaustively studied by many observers, and an accurate knowledge of their pattern has been gradually obtained. On the other hand, accounts of the venous drainage of the pancreas, and of the tributaries of the portal vein and their principal variations, are inadequate.The present study was undertaken to amplify the standard descriptions and if possible to provide a guide to surgeons interested in the surgery of the pancreas and the duodenum.The earliest accounts of the pancreatic arteries were lacking in detail; arcades between the pancreatic arteries arising from the coeliac axis and those from the superior mesenteric artery were not recog- Petren undertook a very full review of the literature in 1929. His account was illustrated by excellent drawings and, with its clear nomenclature, provided an accurate description of the vessels of the head of the pancreas, but he did not discuss the vasculature of the neck and body. Wharton (1932) described a branch of the superior mesenteric artery-the inferior pancreatic -which coursed along the lower border of the pancreas, and a contribution of three to five pancreatic branches from the splenic artery. He also identified anterior and posterior pancreaticoduodenal veins, a group of pancreatic tributaries of the splenic vein, and several other inconstant tributaries which joined the portal vein from the head of the gland. Kirk (1932) described a " supreme pancreatic artery " which appeared to supply the neck and body of the gland, and which took origin from the coeliac axis or from the splenic artery ; and also a middle pancreatic arterial arcade buried in the substance of the head of the gland. In his account of the veins, he drew attention to an inferior pancreatic vein originally described by Tonkoff (1903) and a vein draining the neck of the pancreas which he named the " vena colli pancreatis ".Pierson (1943) reviewed the arterial bloodsupply of the pancreas in 50 dissections, but dismissed the veins briefly as accompanying and superficial to the arteries.Descomps and de Lalaubie (1912), in a series of dissections of the mesenteric veins, made some valuable observations on the venous drainage of the pancreas and on the tributaries of the superior mesenteric, portal, and splenic veins ; they also described variations in the colic veins and illustrated the vena colli pancreatis, although it was not mentioned in their text. MATERIAL AND METHODSIn the present review, 50 specimens-27 dissections and 23 injection-corrosion preparationswere studied in detail, the material being obtained at autopsy. In most specimens the liver, bileducts, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, and spleen were removed in one piece by the pathologist, and the dissection was continued after partial fixation in Jore's and Kaiserling's fluids. In the remaining spec...

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The TRH-degrading activity of rat serum in vitro is five times more potent than that of human serum. In rats, it is significantly reduced in hypothyroidism (thiouracil-induced) and significantly increased in hyperthyroidism (T3 or T4-induced). This suggests a possible role in the regulation of adenohypophysial-thyroid function which is probably, in turn, dependent on thyroid hormone, rather than TSH, levels.