Pancreatic Weight and Histology in the White Whale

The gross anatomy of the cetacean pancreas has been described in several species, and was examined early in the white whale or beluga, Delphinapterus lencas, by Watson and Young (1878)–9). But data on the weight and especially on the histology of the pancreas in whales is scanty and is apparently lacking for the beluga. The histology of the pancreas of the beluga differs in several respects from that of the blue whale as described by Jacobsen (1941) and possesses features of basic interest. I am grateful to W. T. Ward and L. J. Marshal of the Adanac Whale and Fish Products Company for the opportunity of dissecting fresh belugas, and to the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Michigan, for travel funds. This report is based upon 12 specimens harpooned and shot near the mouth of the Churchill River, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, on...