islets of Langerhans (redirected from Islet of Langerhans)

islet /is·let/ (-lit) an island.

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islets of Langerhans  irregular microscopic structures scattered throughout the pancreas and comprising its endocrine portion. They contain the alpha cells, which secrete the hyperglycemic factor glucagon; the beta cells, which secrete insulin; the delta cells, which secrete somatostatin; and the PP (or F ) cells, which secrete pancreatic polypeptide. Degeneration of the beta cells is one of the causes of diabetes mellitus.

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islets of Langerhans

pl.n.

Irregular clusters of endocrine cells scattered throughout the tissue of the pancreas that secrete insulin and glucagon. Also called islands of Langerhans.

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Islets of Langerhans

Special structures in the pancreas responsible for insulin secretion among other functions. They are named for Paul Langerhans, the German researcher who first identified them in 1869.

Mentioned in: Insulin Resistance, Pancreatic Cancer, Endocrine

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islets of Langerhans.

See islands of Langerhans.