Surgical anatomy of the pancreas

The pancreas is divided into five parts including the head, uncinate process, neck, body, and tail. The head of the pancreas lies to the right of the superior mesenteric artery. The uncinate process is a variable posterolateral extension of the head that passes behind the retropancreatic vessels and anterior to the inferior vena cava and aorta. The neck is defined as the portion of the gland overlying the superior mesenteric vessels. The body and tail lie to the left of the mesenteric vessels. There is no meaningful anatomic division between the body and tail, except that the tail is near the hilum of the spleen.