What is "pancreatic duct"

n. a duct connecting the pancreas with the intestine

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 to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion provided by the exocrine pancreas. The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct just prior to the ampulla of Vater, after which both ducts perforate the medial side of the second portion of the duodenum at the major duodenal papilla. There are many anatomical variants reported but these are quite rare.

The duct of Wirsung is named after its discoverer, the German anatomist Johann Georg Wirsung (1589–1643).