Embryological fusion between the ducts of the ventral and dorsal primordia of the pancreas occurs in two manners

Abstract

The junction between the main pancreatic duct and the accessory duct has been thought to be the site of fusion between the ducts of the ventral and the dorsal primordia of the pancreas. The aim of this study was to investigate the fusion point between the ventral and the dorsal pancreatic ducts and to determine whether there is any relationship between the configuration of the pancreatic ducts and the manner of embryological fusion. Pancreatography was performed at 22 consecutive autopsies. Immunohistochemical staining of pancreatic polypeptide (PP) was performed because PP cells were rich in the ventral pancreas but poor in the dorsal pancreas. We identified two types of fusion. In one type, the ventral and the dorsal pancreatic ducts fuse at their junction (one-point fusion). In the other type, the two ducts fuse not only at the proximal site but at a second, more distal site (two-point fusion). Analysis of the pancreatograms showed that the distance between the junction and the major papilla in two-point fusion is significantly shorter than in one-point fusion (p < 0.01). These results indicate a close correlation between the pattern seen on pancreatograms and the manner of embryological fusion.