The blood supply of the pancreas, with special reference to that of the islands of Langerhans

Abstract

This study was undertaken in order to clarify the various ideas concerning the relation of the blood supply to the glandular tissues of the pancreas. An embryologic and anatomic consideration of the blood vessels of the pancreas with special reference to their relation to the islands of Langerhans is included. The work on the embryology of these vessels was carried out by a study of serial sections of embryos of the mouse, rat, and man at different stages in their development. The larger vessels and their relation to the pancreas were studied by gross dissection and by the use of celluloid corrosion method. The intrapancreatic circulation was studied after arterial and venous injections with Berlin blue, both in serial sections and thick sections cleared by Spalteholz's method and by an acute congestion method.Laguesse( 18), in 1902, described the vessels as playing an essential part in the early development of the islands of Langerhans. He claimed that the island cells in amphibians first differentiate close to the vessels. Hansemanii in the same year considered that the islands of Langerhans arise with the capillaries from the stroma, the capillaries first widening and the adjacent cells becoming richer in protoplasm, thus forming the glomerular-like structures. He believed that there 'Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the TJniversity of Miiiiiesota in partial fulfillmeiit of the requirements f o r the degree of Master of Scieiiec in Medieiiw. 55

Insulo-Acinar Portal System in the Horse Pancreas

“…As early as 40 years ago, the pattern of the vascular supply to the islets much like that described above was demonstrated by WHARTON (1932) in the rabbit. WHARTON'S techniques of specimen preparation partly coincided with those in the present study.…”

“…The capillary connections between the islet and exocrine tissue had been known by some earlier authors such as KUHNE and LEA (1882) and DEWITT (1906), but the opinions of researchers on the nature of the afferent vessels of the islets had been very divergent (for literature see WHARTON, 1932;BARGMANN, 1939;THIEL, 1954). DEWITT (1906), for example had conceived that the islet received a thick vein.…”

“…In this case the vas afferens is connected to one of the marginal capillaries of the islet, which forms a capillary net penetrating into the center of the islet (FUJITA and WATANABE, 1973). This type of vascular supply in the rabbit islet was noticed by WHARTON (1932) andTHIEL (1954), though an endocrinological evaluation of the finding was naturally impossible in the days of those authors.…”

“…Although they were often called efferent vessels (WHARTON, 1932;TOHYAMA, 1935) or vasa efferentia (TERBRUGGEN, 1948;FERNER, 1952;THIEL, 1954) HENDERSON (1969 describes that they "constitute an islet-exocrine portal system." HENDERSON writes: "Venous drainage of the islet is often via capillaries and venules into exocrine tissue-it is rarer to find direct connections between islet capillaries and veins."…”

Microcirculation of the pancreas in the rat and rabbit with special reference to the insulo-acinar portal system and emissary vein of the islet.

“…Since the works of WHARTON (1932) and THIEL (1954), the portal connections now called the "insulo-acinar portal system" (FUJITA, 1973;FUJITA and MURAKAMI, 1973) between the capillary network in the islets and that in the acinar tissue have been confirmed by light microscopy of dye-injected specimens or by scanning electron microscopy of corrosion casts in a variety of animals (horse: FUJITA, 1973;monkey: FUJITA and MURAKAMI, 1973;dog, rat, rabbit: FUJITA, YANATORI and MURAKAMI, 1976;cat: SYED ALI, 1984). The portal connections between the islets and the excretory ducts, and those between the exocrine acini and the excretory ducts in the pancreas, have also been described in the rat and rabbit (OHTANI and FUJITA, 1980;LIFsoN and LASSA,1981).…”