What organs are involved in the feedback mechanism that maintains blood sugar?
Mostly the pancreas: Insulin is secreted by the Islets of Langerhans which are special groups of cells in the pancreas. The Islets (little islands) are endocrine organs. If you have a large carbohydrate meal, the level of glucose in the blood will start to rise as your digestive system turns all the starch and sugars in your food into glucose. If you have not had a meal for several hours your blood sugar level will fall because your cells use up the glucose in aerobic respiration. When your blood sugar level rises, the Islets of Langerhans secrete MORE insulin. When your blood sugar level falls, the Islets of Langerhans secrete LESS insulin. The main target organ for insulin is the liver. It is the liver which removes glucose from the blood by turning it into glycogen. All other tissues in your body need insulin to help then respire glucose, so in a way they are also target organs. If you eat, and eat, and eat, and eat, never mind how little exercise; there will come a time when there
Diabetes is indeed a multi-hormonal disease. Everybody who has responded is right. The pancreas and the liver both play key roles in maintaining glucose levels in the body. In the pancreas lie the alpha cells and the beta cells. Alpha cells secrete glucagon which, in turn, stimulates glucose output from the liver. The beta cells not only secrete insulin, but also amylin. Both insulin and amylin work together to maintain glucose homeostasis. Insulin is responsible for glucose disappearance from the blood stream, while amylin is responsible for glucose appearance into the bloodstream. Amylin does this by suppressing glucagon secretion and slowing down gastric emptying. Wait there’s more! In the L cells of the intestines, GLP-1 or incretin hormones are secreted. These hormones, unfortunately deficient in diabetics, represent the natural glucose regulating mechanism of the body, in response to food intake. GLP-1 hormones elicit many mechanisms, such as enhancing insulin secretion from the
