What are the Islets of Langerhans?
The islets of Langerhans are clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce a variety of hormones. They are named for German pathologist Paul Langerhans, who first observed them in 1869. A healthy human pancreas contains approximately one million of these cells, but their total weight is only 1 to 1.5 grams (0.03 to 0.05 ounces), or about 1% of the weight of the pancreas. The rest of the pancreas serves to produce enzymes that aid in the digestion of food, while the islets of Langerhans produce hormones that help to regulate levels of sugar, also called glucose, in the blood.
