pancreas, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ; pa^s, pa^n, all + kre`as flesh, meat: cf. F. pancréas.].
The sweetbread, a gland connected with the intestine of nearly all vertebrates. It is usually elongated and light-colored, and its secretion, called the pancreatic juice, is discharged, often together with the bile, into the upper part of the intestines, and is a powerful aid in digestion. See Illust. of Digestive apparatus. [1913 Webster]