Pancreas - Facts for Kids

Basic Information

Your pancreas is a special organ that looks like a banana-shaped sponge, and scientists call it “pancreas” which comes from Greek words meaning “all flesh”!

Your amazing pancreas sits snugly behind your stomach, in the upper part of your belly near your ribs, where it can help digest all your favorite foods!

The pancreas is about 6 inches (15 cm) long in adults — that’s about the same length as a dollar bill!

Your pancreas weighs about 3 ounces in adults, which is about as heavy as a deck of playing cards!

The pancreas is actually two organs in one — it’s both an enzyme factory and a hormone-making marvel!

Your pancreas contains special clusters of cells called islets of Langerhans, named after the scientist who discovered them in 1869!

The pancreas starts developing when you’re just a tiny embryo, about the size of a grain of rice!

Your pancreas works as a team with your liver, stomach, and small intestine to help digest food and control blood sugar!

The pancreas makes powerful juices that can break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates from your meals!

The pancreas tries to produce just the right amount of insulin when you eat — it’s like having a tiny scientist inside you working hard to keep your blood sugar balanced!

Structure & Appearance

Your pancreas has four main parts: the head, neck, body, and tail, just like a friendly dragon!

The pancreas has a very thin covering of tissue that helps hold it together and divide it into small working sections — kind of like how a piece of fruit has a delicate skin!

Inside your pancreas are thousands of tiny tubes that carry digestive juices, like a microscopic water park!

The color of a healthy pancreas is a peachy-pink, similar to your tongue!

Your pancreas contains about one million special grape-like clusters called acini, and each cluster is made of many tiny cells — like bunches of grapes under a microscope!

The islets of Langerhans in your pancreas look like tiny islands in an ocean of other cells!

Your pancreas grows with you, starting at about 2 inches (5 cm) long when you’re born and reaching full size around age 20!

Your pancreas has a bumpy, lumpy texture like a corn cob because it’s made of tiny grape-like clusters of cells that work together to make digestive juices and important hormones for your body!

Function & Purpose

Every day, your pancreas makes about 4 to 16 cups of digestive juices — enough to fill several big water bottles! The exact amount depends on how much food you eat.

The pancreas produces insulin within minutes of you eating something sweet — it’s faster than a superhero!

Your pancreas can tell the difference between carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and makes different enzymes for each one!

The pancreas sends out special messengers called hormones that tell your body when to store or use energy!

Your pancreas constantly monitors your blood sugar levels all day and night — the special cells inside check every few seconds to make sure your body has just the right amount of energy!

Amazing Abilities

Your pancreas is so smart it can tell when you’re sleeping and adjusts its hormone production accordingly!

Your pancreas has millions of tiny clusters called islets, and each one contains thousands of insulin-producing cells — altogether, that’s billions of cells working together like the world’s biggest orchestra!

Your pancreas can sense sugar in your blood within seconds — faster than you can say “sweet treats”!

Your pancreas never takes a break — it works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just like your heart!

Fun & Unique Facts

Your pancreas starts working before you’re born! By around 7 to 8 weeks into pregnancy, it begins producing insulin, the hormone that helps control your blood sugar and supports your growth in the womb.

The word pancreas comes from the Greek pankreas, meaning “all flesh”. It is a combination of pân, meaning “all,” and kréas, meaning “flesh”.