Heterotopic Pancreatic Tissue in Gastrointestinal Systems
Summary
Heterotopic pancreatic tissue, also known as ectopic pancreas, refers to morphologically normal pancreatic tissue located outside the boundaries of the main gland and lacking direct vascular or ductal continuity. It occurs most frequently within the submucosa of the stomach, duodenum and jejunum, and is found in up to 5 per cent of surgical specimens. Histologically it is classified by the presence of acini, ducts and islet cells in varying combinations. Clinically, most cases are asymptomatic and identified incidentally, but symptomatic lesions may present with abdominal pain, bleeding, obstruction or, rarely, malignant transformation. Imaging modalities such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and endoscopic ultrasound play a central role in detection and characterisation. Management ranges from conservative observation for small asymptomatic foci to endoscopic or surgical resection in cases of symptomatic or suspicious lesions.
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Heterotopic Pancreatic Tissue in Gastrointestinal Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in heterotopic pancreatic tissue in gastrointestinal systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Heterotopic pancreas: Pancreatic tissue situated outside the main organ, lacking normal vascular and ductal connections.
Acini: Clusters of exocrine cells in the pancreas responsible for enzyme secretion into ducts.
Islets of Langerhans: Endocrine cell clusters in the pancreas that produce hormones such as insulin and glucagon.
Radiomics: Extraction and analysis of large numbers of quantitative features from medical images to characterise tissues.
Machine learning: Computational algorithms that identify patterns in data and make predictions without explicit programming.
Computed tomography (CT): Cross-sectional imaging technique using X-rays to visualise internal anatomical structures.
References
- Insight into gastrointestinal heterotopic pancreas: imaging evaluation and differential diagnosis. Insights into Imaging (2021).
- Development of a multi-phase CT-based radiomics model to differentiate heterotopic pancreas from gastrointestinal stromal tumor. BMC Medical Imaging (2024).
- An ensemble machine learning model assists in the diagnosis of gastric ectopic pancreas and gastric stromal tumors. Insights into Imaging (2024).
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