pancreatic juice The alkaline digestive juice produced by the pancreas and secreted into the duodenum. It contains the inactive precursors of a number of protein digestive enzymes. Trypsinogen is activated to trypsin by enteropeptidase in the intestinal lumen; in turn, trypsin activates the other enzyme precursors: chymotrypsinogen to chymotrypsin, pro‐elastase to elastase, procarboxypeptidase to carboxypeptidase. Also contains lipase, amylase, and nucleases.

pancreatic juice n. the mixture of digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas. Its production is stimulated by hormones secreted by the duodenum (see cholecystokinin, secretin).