The county jurisdiction includes the island of Santa Rosa south of Pensacola; it is not part of Santa Rosa County proper. Escambia County is part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.
It secretes juices containing enzymes that are capable of digesting all major types of food -- carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The pancreas is the first organ to begin digesting fats. It secretes pancreatic lipase, esterase and phospholipase, which break down chemically complex fats into simple, easy-to-absorb fats. Similarly, trypsin and carboxypolypeptidase break down proteins, and pancreatic amylase breaks down carbohydrates.
The hormones secreted by the endocrine pancreas regulate metabolic functions throughout the body, in the digestive tract, or in the islets themselves. The islets of Langerhans contain three major cell types, alpha, beta and delta cells, that secrete glucagon, insulin and somatostatin, respectively.