What is Diabetes mellitus? The pancreas is a small essential gland that is situated near the duodenum and stomach. It has mainly 2 functions: An exocrine function in which it produces enzymes that is used for the digestion of complex sugars, proteins and lipids. An endocrine function in which it mainly produces hormones (such as insulin and glucagon) for glucose regulation. Insulin regulates the flow of glucose from the bloodstream into the body cells In the case of insulin d