Pancreatic islets Pancreatic islets The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1 to 2% of the pancreas volume and receive 10–15% of its blood flow. The pancreatic islets are arranged in density routes throughout the human pancreas, and are important in the metabolism of glucose. There are about 3 million islets distributed in the form of "density routes" throughout the pancreas of a healthy adult human, each of which measures an average of about 0.1 mm (109
Langerhans cell histiocytosis from other forms of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (Letterer-Siwe or Hand-Schüller-Christian variant. Seen mostly in children, multifocal unisystem LCH is characterized by fever, bone lesions and diffuse eruptions, usually on the scalp and in the ear canals. 50% of cases involve the pituitary stalk, leading to diabetes insipidus. The triad of diabetes insipidus, exopthalmos, and lytic bone lesions is known as the "Hand-Schüller-Christian triad". Peak onset is 2–10 years of age. Multifocal multisystem LCH, also called "Letterer-Siwe disease", is a rapidly progressing disease in which Langerhans Cell cells proliferate in many tissues. It is mostly seen in children under age 2,