Insulin - History, Types Of Diabetes
glands sugar directly pancreas
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas gland, one of the glands in the endocrine system. Insulin, working in harmony with other hormones, regulates the level of blood sugar (glucose). An insufficient level of insulin secretion leads to high blood sugar, a disease called diabetes mellitus.
Endocrine glands are ductless glands; that is, they pour their products (hormones) directly into the bloodstream. The pancreas, a gland in the upper abdomen, has cells within it that secrete insulin directly into the bloodstream.
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Prior to the twentieth century, diabetes was a fatal disease. Its cause was unknown, and the method of treating it had yet to be discovered. Not until 1921 did the research of Sir Frederick Banting, a Canadian surgeon, and Charles Best, a Canadian physiologist, reveal that insulin is crucial in blood glucose regulation. The two scientists then isolated insulin, an achievement for which they were a…
Diabetes manifests in two types. Type I diabetes is also called childhood onset because it begins in early childhood. Adult onset diabetes or Type II affects adults. Glucose is a source of energy to the muscles of the body. Normally, the glucose content of blood is determined by the demands made by the muscles; the secretion of insulin, which lowers blood glucose; the secretion of glucagon, also m…
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