'Pancreas' is Greek for 'all-flesh' — named because the organ is entirely soft, boneless tissue.
A large gland behind the stomach that secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine and produces the hormones insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood sugar.
From Greek pánkreas (πάγκρεας, all flesh), a compound of pân (πᾶν, all, every) + kréas (κρέας, flesh, raw meat), from PIE *krewh₂- (raw flesh, blood still flowing). Greek pân derives from PIE *peh₂- (to protect, to feed) and is cognate with Sanskrit viśvam (all) in the sense of wholeness. The PIE root *krewh₂- also underlies Latin cruor (blood, gore), English raw (from Proto-Germanic *rawaz), crude (Latin crudus, uncooked, raw), and cruel (Latin crudelis, producing
The PIE root behind 'pancreas' (*krewh₂-, raw flesh) also produced Latin 'crudus' (raw, bloody), which gave English 'crude' (unrefined, raw), 'cruel' (from Latin 'crudelis,' blood-thirsty, literally 'raw-natured'), and 'cruelty.' So 'pancreas' (all-flesh) and 'cruel' (blood-thirsty) share the same prehistoric root — both go back to the concept of raw, bleeding flesh.