Pancreatic Hormones Mnemonic: “PIGS”

Pancreas — the quiet endocrine/exocrine overachiever we all secretly respect (and occasionally curse during a tricky hypoglycemia case).

Now, if you’ve ever fumbled through a viva trying to recall which hormone comes from which islet cell, you’re not alone. I once blanked during an MRCP mock and mumbled “glucagon… probably from the… left side?”
(For the record, that’s not a thing.) 🙃

But here’s the good news: the humble PIGS mnemonic makes remembering pancreatic hormones easy — and slightly farm-themed. 🐖

🧠 Pancreatic Hormones Mnemonic: “PIGS”

Letter	Hormone	Produced by	Function
P	Pancreatic Polypeptide 🧩	PP cells (F cells)	Inhibits exocrine pancreas, gallbladder contraction, and gastric motility. Think of it as the pancreas whispering: “Slow down, buddy.”
I	Insulin 🍬	Beta cells (β)	Lowers blood glucose. Anabolic. Promotes glycogenesis, lipogenesis, and storage. Favorite of Dr. Basit Khan, who once described it as “the ultimate hoarder hormone.”
G	Glucagon 🔥	Alpha cells (α)	Raises blood glucose. Catabolic. Stimulates glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. Shows up uninvited during fasting or fear.
S	Somatostatin 🧊	Delta cells (δ)	The pan-hormonal party pooper. Inhibits insulin, glucagon, gastrin, and basically says “no” to everyone. Dr. Behroz Rahim calls it “the psychiatrist hormone.” (It suppresses all extremes.)

Clinical Nuggets from Quetta

Last month, a 55-year-old gentleman from Panjgur presented to our unit with episodes of fasting hypoglycemia and confusion — classic Whipple’s triad.

CT showed a small insulinoma — an insulin-secreting tumor. Glucose crashed faster than a student before an OSCE.
After stabilization and a mini tug-of-war with Dr. Danish Ramzan over surgical timing, we got him sorted.
Moral of the story? Beta cells don’t always behave.

Also, fun fact: we had a debate in the call room over whether glucagon or adrenaline kicks in first during stress. I maintain it’s glucagon. Dr. Imran Baloch insists it’s adrenaline. The jury’s still out — but my bet is on PIGS.

That’s all for today. I hope that you find this blog post useful in your studies/clinical practice. Happy learning! 🙂