How does the pancreas work?

Behind your stomach sits a soft, 15 cm organ that does two jobs at once: it pours out a litre or more of digestive juice a day, and a million tiny islands inside it keep your blood sugar steady with insulin.

Read how it works: How does the pancreas work? · The history of the pancreas and insulin · More boxes on Glassbox

Chapters in this interactive model

1. The pancreas, unpacked: A soft, 15 cm organ tucked behind your stomach, doing two very different jobs.
2. The digestive-juice factory: Enzymes made safe, bicarbonate to kill the acid, and hormones that say "food is here".
3. The islets: tiny hormone islands: How a beta cell tastes the sugar in your blood and answers with insulin.
4. The blood-sugar thermostat: Insulin and glucagon keep your blood sugar steady through meals, walks and sleep.
5. Diabetes, explained: What happens when the thermostat breaks: type 1, type 2 and the HbA1c test.
6. Keeping it healthy, and what goes wrong: Pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and what research says lowers the risk of type 2.