CORRELATIONS OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PANCREATIC SECRETION

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Abstract
The relationship of the various structural elements of the pancreas has intrigued many investigators. Laguesse1 evolved a remarkable theory of "balancement," maintaining that acini are continuously transforming into islands and that these two structures hold each other in a balance according to functional needs. A large series of experiments was conducted after the discovery of the islands to see what would happen to the islands when the external secretion was obstructed. The literature up to 1909 is summarized in Moldenhauer's inaugural dissertation;2 the more recent studies have been discussed critically in Herxheimer's monograph.3 One group of investigators firmly believes in a limiting membrane and a complete independence of the islands from the rest of the pancreas. A large number of investigators claim possible transitions of acini into insular epithelium. Another small but authoritative group of investigators concedes the proliferation and transformation of duct epithelium into islands when