Abstract

Background:The duct system of pancreas consists of two large ducts – Main pancreatic duct and Accessory pancreatic duct. Both these ducts drain the entire exocrine part of pancreas. Main pancreatic duct is always present while accessory pancreatic duct may be absent in 30% cases. Presence of accessory pancreatic duct (probably patent) might protect the pancreas from the harmful consequences of obstruction of main pancreatic duct.
Material and methods:  The present study is done in 50 adult formalin fixed pancreatic specimens removed during posterior abdominal wall dissection.
Results: The study showed 70% prevalence of accessory pancreatic duct. The accessory pancreatic duct coursed mainly through three major types- long type (20%), short type (45.72%) and ansa type (17.14%). Ducts which do not fall into the above said three patterns were included in a fourth group (17.14%). The mean length and standard deviation of the accessory pancreatic duct is 4.07 ± 1.07 cm and the mean width and standard deviation of the duct is 1.6 ± 0.6 mm. The openings of accessory pancreatic duct into major and minor duodenal papillae are 31.4% and 68.6% respectively.
Conclusion: The accessory pancreatic duct was observed only in one third specimens. Short type is the most common type of accessory pancreatic duct. The length of the duct varies from 3 to 5 cm and the width from 1 to 2.2mm.The accessory pancreatic duct mainly opens into minor duodenal papillae. A communication between accessory and main pancreatic duct is observed in 34.3%.