Hepatopancreas

The hepatopancreas, also referred to as midgut gland is an organ of the digestive tract in different species of arthropods, molluscs and fish. Functionally, it essentially corresponds to the separately formed in reptiles, birds and mammals organs liver and exocrine pancreas, but also emerge from a designated as hepatopankreatischer ring joint investment in these animals during embryonic development.

Construction and function

The task of the hepatopancreas, which is designed as a part of the midgut gland in various invertebrates, both the formation of digestive enzymes and the absorption and storage of nutrients. In various fish such as the Cyprinidae the hepatopancreas occurs during the larval development by immigration of the first growing isolated pancreatic tissue in the liver tissue in which it is present distributed island- trained in hepatopancreas. However, many other fish species have a clearly demarcated pancreas. The birds and mammals in the exocrine pancreatic tissue embedded as so-called islets of Langerhans, endocrine tissue that forms the hormones insulin and glucagon, is formed in most bony fish in the form of the Brockmann body.

In some arthropod species, the hepatopancreas of importance for the bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants such as heavy metals or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This may have implications for appropriate food chains. The hepatopancreas of crabs, lobsters and crabs, whose consistency is similar to that of fatty meats, applies under names such as " crab butter " or " cancer fat " as a delicacy.