Liver, gallbladder and pancreas !
- Embryonic structure
The liver and pancreas bud from the end of the foregut; the pancreas is built from two buds that meet when the duodenum turns.
Updated 2026-11-01
See it in 3D: Liver · Gallbladder · Pancreas · Pancreatic duct · Common bile duct · Cystic duct · Falciform ligament · Duodenum
What it is
The hepatic diverticulum appears in the middle of the third week as an outgrowth of endoderm at the distal end of the foregut and grows into the septum transversum. It gives rise to the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts. The pancreas arises from a dorsal and a ventral bud; the ventral bud swings with the bile duct behind the duodenum and fuses with the dorsal bud. This sequence explains annular pancreas, pancreas divisum and the anatomy of the ducts.
Structure
- Hepatocytes and bile duct epithelium: endoderm.
- Hepatic sinusoids: derived from the vitelline and umbilical veins.
- Capsule, stroma and Kupffer cells: mesoderm of the septum transversum.
- Exocrine and endocrine pancreas (acini, ducts and islets): endoderm of both buds.
What it becomes
- Liver, intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts, gallbladder and cystic duct.
- Lesser omentum and falciform ligament; the bare area of the liver stays in direct contact with the diaphragm.
- The whole pancreas: the main duct opens with the bile duct at the major papilla and the accessory duct, when it persists, at the minor papilla.
Step by step
- Mid-week 3: the distal foregut endoderm forms the hepatic diverticulum.
- Hepatic cords invade the septum transversum and mingle with the vitelline and umbilical veins, which form the sinusoids.
- The stalk between the diverticulum and the duodenum narrows into the bile duct; a small ventral outgrowth from it forms the gallbladder and cystic duct.
- Week 5: the dorsal pancreatic bud appears in the dorsal mesentery and the ventral bud next to the bile duct.
- As the duodenum rotates, the ventral bud and the bile duct swing behind it and come to lie below and behind the dorsal bud.
- Week 7: the buds and their ducts fuse.
- Third month: pancreatic islets appear; insulin secretion begins around the fifth month.
Markers
- FGF2
- BMP4
- HHEX
- PDX1
- PTF1A
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What does the liver bud from, and into which tissue does it grow?
From the hepatic diverticulum of the distal foregut endoderm, which grows into the septum transversum.
Which parts of the pancreas come from the ventral bud?
The lower part of the head and the uncinate process, plus the proximal part of the main pancreatic duct.
Which duct becomes the accessory duct (of Santorini)?
The proximal part of the dorsal bud's duct, when it persists; it opens at the minor papilla.
Which embryonic vessel runs in the free edge of the falciform ligament?
The umbilical vein, which is obliterated after birth and becomes the round ligament of the liver.
See it in 3D
The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it is found.
Related
- Primitive gut: foregut, midgut and hindgut and their arteries
- Foregut: esophagus, stomach rotation and duodenum
- Mesenteries, the omental bursa and the spleen
- Annular pancreas and pancreas divisum
- Biliary atresia
- Duodenal atresia and stenosis
- Venous system: vitelline, umbilical and cardinal veins
- Diaphragm: its four components and its innervation
Educational content on embryonic development; not a guide to prenatal diagnosis or to medicines in pregnancy and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.
Sources: Embryology, Pancreas (StatPearls Publishing (NCBI Bookshelf), 2023); Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Peritoneum (StatPearls Publishing (NCBI Bookshelf), 2023); Langman's Medical Embryology, 13th ed., ch. 15: Digestive System (Wolters Kluwer, 2015).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.