Rat Pancreas Tissue
The digital image presented in this section is a three-dimensional reconstruction of rat pancreas tissue stained with Alexa Fluor 488 (wheat germ agglutinin; highlighting lectins), Alexa Fluor 568 (phalloidin; labeling actin filaments), and DAPI (nuclei). The pancreas has an endocrine and exocrine gland. The endocrine secretes insulin and glucagon, which are both essential for the regulation of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism. The exocrine is the part of the pancreas that synthesizes and secretes pancreatic juices, which contain a number of enzymes that include elastase, amylase, carboxypeptidase, and trypsinogen.