Pan·cre·as n.  Anat. The sweetbread, a gland connected with the intestine of nearly all vertebrates. It is usually elongated and light-colored, and its secretion, called the pancreatic juice, is discharged, often together with the bile, into the upper part of the intestines, and is a powerful aid in digestion. See Illust. of Digestive apparatus.

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 Di·gest·ive a.  Pertaining to digestion; having the power to cause or promote digestion; as, the digestive ferments.
    Digestive cheese and fruit there sure will be.   --B. Jonson.
 Digestive apparatus, the organs of food digestion, esp. the alimentary canal and glands connected with it.
 Digestive salt, the chloride of potassium.


 E·soph·a·gus n.  Anat. That part of the alimentary canal between the pharynx and the stomach; the gullet. See Illust. of Digestive apparatus, under Digestive. [Written also œsophagus.]

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