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Jaundice is commonly caused by conditions such as pancreatic cancer, which causes blockage of the bile duct passing through the cancerous portion of the pancreas; cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the bile ducts; blockage by a stone in patients with gallstones; and from scarring after injury to the bile duct during gallbladder removal.
The pancreatic duct or duct of Wirsung (also, the major pancreatic duct due to the existence of an accessory pancreatic duct) is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct. This supplies it with pancreatic juice from the exocrine pancreas , which aids in digestion .
The bile duct is some 6–8 cm long, and normally up to 8 mm in diameter. [4]Its proximal supraduodenal part is situated within the free edge of the lesser omentum.Its middle retroduodenal part is oriented inferiorly and right-ward, and is situated posterior to the first part of the duodenum, and anterior to the inferior vena cava.
The common bile duct and pancreatic duct may sometimes unite outside the duodenal wall, creating an unusually long common duct. The two ducts may also drain into the duodenum separately, or may fuse yet retain their separate lumens separated by a septum.
The double duct sign is a radiological finding characterized by the simultaneous dilation of the common bile duct and the main pancreatic duct.This sign is significant because it often indicates an obstruction in the distal bile duct and pancreatic duct, frequently caused by serious underlying pathologies such as pancreatic carcinoma or periampullary tumors. [1]
The function of the common bile duct is to allow bile to travel from the gallbladder to the small intestine, mixing with pancreatic digestive enzymes along the way. [4] One possible complication of choledocholithiasis is an infection of the bile ducts between the liver and the gallstone lodged in the common bile duct.
The major duodenal papilla (papilla of Vater) is a rounded projection in the duodenum into which the common bile duct and pancreatic duct drain. The major duodenal papilla is, in most people, the primary mechanism for the secretion of bile and other enzymes that facilitate digestion.
Two ducts, the main pancreatic duct and a smaller accessory pancreatic duct run through the body of the pancreas. The main pancreatic duct joins with the common bile duct forming a small ballooning called the ampulla of Vater (hepatopancreatic ampulla). This ampulla is surrounded by a muscle, the sphincter of Oddi.