ampulla of Vater

ampulla of Va·ter

noun \-ˈfät-ər\

Definition of AMPULLA OF VATER

: a trumpet-mouthed dilatation of the duodenal wall at the opening of the fused pancreatic and common bile ducts—called also papilla of Vater

Biographical Note for AMPULLA OF VATER

Vater, Abraham (1684–1751), German anatomist. Vater was a professor of anatomy and botany and later of pathology and therapeutics at Wittenberg. In 1710 he first noted the ampulla that has been named after him, but he did not publish a description of it until 1720. In 1717 he described the terminal capsules of certain sensory nerve fibers. They were later described by the Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini in 1840. Now these corpuscles are more commonly identified with Pacini than with Vater.