Hepatopancreas

A digestive gland in many invertebrates, especially crustaceans, that combines functions associated with the liver and pancreas, including digestion, nutrient storage, and metabolism.

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Hepatopancreatic tubule: A branching microscopic tube in the crustacean hepatopancreas, lined with cells involved in digestion and nutrient processing. Tubules are the structural units where much of the gland’s digestion and absorption occur.
Liver: A vertebrate organ that processes nutrients, produces bile, and performs many metabolic and detoxification functions. The hepatopancreas performs some liver-like roles without being a vertebrate liver.
Biomonitoring: The use of organisms or biological responses to assess environmental conditions. Changes in hepatopancreatic tissue can reveal exposure to environmental stressors.
Insect midgut: The central digestive region of an insect gut, where much enzymatic digestion and nutrient absorption occur. Insects carry out comparable digestive tasks in a gut region rather than a hepatopancreas.
B-cell (hepatopancreas): A secretory cell in crustacean hepatopancreatic tubules that releases digestive enzymes into the tubule lumen. B-cells supply enzymes that break down food within the gland’s tubules.
Pancreas: A vertebrate gland that secretes digestive enzymes and hormones, including insulin and glucagon. Its digestive-enzyme role helps explain the second half of the organ’s name.
Crustacean aquaculture: The farming of crustaceans such as shrimp, prawns, and crabs for food or other uses. Hepatopancreas condition is monitored because disease or stress can threaten farmed stocks.
Molluscan digestive gland: A digestive organ in mollusks that secretes enzymes and participates in absorption and intracellular digestion. This related gland occurs in mollusks, showing the organ’s broader invertebrate distribution.
R-cell (hepatopancreas): An absorptive cell in crustacean hepatopancreatic tubules that takes up and stores nutrients. R-cells help explain how digestion is followed by nutrient uptake and storage.
Digestive enzyme: A protein that catalyzes the breakdown of food molecules into absorbable components. Enzyme secretion is one of the hepatopancreas’s direct contributions to digestion.