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Your pancreas has been examined using ultrasound.

An ultrasound examination involves sending ultrasound waves from an ultrasound probe in the body. Depending on the structure of the tissue, different numbers of ultrasound waves are reflected. These waves are then converted to images that can be viewed on a screen.

To use ultrasound to closely examine tissue or organs, the ultrasound probe should be as close as possible to the location being examined. For this purpose, the ultrasound probe can be inserted into the body using a tube.

To examine your pancreas, a tube with an ultrasound probe was inserted via your mouth. The tube was then pushed down to the first section of your small intestine. In this way your pancreas could be examined through the wall of your small intestine. The pancreas is made up of 3 parts: the head, the body and the tail. The head of the pancreas is right next to the first part of the small intestine. The body of the pancreas sits in front of the aorta. Important blood vessels run along the body of the pancreas from the intestines. The tail of the pancreas sits to the left of the abdomen next to the spleen.