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The pancreas is a fatty-looking organ that is located in the mesenteries between stomach, duodenum, and ascending and transverse colons. The pancreas does not have a connective tissue capsule but is covered by loose vascular connective tissue of the mesenteries. Connective tissue septa divide the pancreas into lobes and lobules. The pancreas contains both endocrine (islets of Langerhans) and exocrine (serous acini) components. Islets of Langerhans are composed of irregular cords of light staining polygonal cells around sinusoids. They are located closely to blood vessels and pancreatic ducts. In the mouse, islets of Langerhans can be unusually large in the mouse. The exocrine pancreas is depicted more extensively in Chapter 3. Gastrointestinal System, Pancreas.
The 4X micrograph depicts a pancreas separated into lobules by septa. The 10X, 20X, and 40X micrographs show, in increasing detail, islets of Langerhans surrounded by acini of the exocrine pancreas. In the 20X and 40X micrographs the capillaries in the islet of Langerhans are visible.
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