Blood Glucose Levels in the Body

This article explains the mechanism of blood glucose regulation in the human body and the role of insulin and glucagon. It discusses how the pancreas releases these hormones to maintain normal blood glucose levels and how the liver responds to high and low blood glucose levels. The article also mentions the different categories of blood glucose levels and their significance.

Question 1 How blood glucose levels work in the body.
Hemostasis is a physiological process where an individual stops bleeding and maintaining a
normal blood flow in the body when a person has an injury1.
Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness that is measured on a definite scale2.
Description of the diagram.
The human body keeps its blood glucose level within a very narrow range for optimal
functioning of the cells and body in general. This calls for a mechanism in which the blood
glucose levels are kept within the range. For this, the body employs a method to keep the
glucose levels by using the pancreas hormones. The pancreas takes part by releasing
hormones that aid in regulating the levels of blood glucose that is glucagon and insulin3. The
beta cells of the pancreas release insulin while the alpha cells release glucagon. There are
three levels in which a person can categorize blood glucose levels; normal levels, being
hyperglycemia that is high blood glucose of more than 120mg% and hypoglycemia that is
low blood glucose of less than 80mg%. The different types of cells in the body need sugar for
energy and this is the important role of insulin that helps convert the big sugar molecules into
insulin that is absorbed by the cells. When a person has a high blood glucose level, there is a
stimulation that causes insulin release by the beta cells. It happens especially when the
individual takes a meal that is rich in carbohydrates. Insulin is released into the blood and the
body cells respond by absorbing glucose out of the blood hence lowering the blood glucose
levels. The liver also responds by taking up the glucose and converting it to glycogen that is
1 Mussbacher, Marion, Julia B. Kral-Pointner, Manuel Salzmann, Waltraud C. Schrottmaier, and Alice Assinger.
"Mechanisms of Hemostasis: Contributions of Platelets, Coagulation Factors, and the Vessel Wall."
In Fundamentals of Vascular Biology, pp. 145-169. Springer, Cham, 2019.
2 Holeček, Miroslav, Jiří J. Mareš, Jaroslav Šesták, and Pavel Hubík. "What Is the Physical and Operational
Meaning of Temperature and Its Self-Measurability During Unsteady Thermal Processes Within
Thermodynamic Concepts?." In Thermal Physics and Thermal Analysis, pp. 45-77. Springer, Cham, 2017.
3 Moore, Mary Courtney, Katie C. Coate, Jason J. Winnick, Zhibo An, and Alan D. Cherrington. "Regulation of
hepatic glucose uptake and storage in vivo." Advances in nutrition 3, no. 3 (2012): 286-294.

stored for future use indicatively when there are low levels of blood glucose in the body. This
mechanism ensures that the glucose level in blood decline to a set point that is within the
normal ranges of glucose in the blood. After achieving normal levels, the stimulus for insulin
secretion is diminished. In a case where a person has low levels of blood glucose levels, there
a stimulation of the alpha cells and they release hormone glucagon. This state can be as a
result of skipping a meal or even when a person is conducting a heavy exercise. Glucagon
hormone makes the liver to release glucose into the blood after breaking down the glycogen
that was stored during the hyperglycaemic episodes4. The breakdown of glycogen into
glucose increases or raises the levels of glucose in the blood to the set levels in the body. In
achieving this the stimulants that caused glucagon release diminish because the levels of
glucose have been normalized. Hormone glucagon can also induce the liver to make glucose
by breaking down the building blocks of the body like the proteins and fatty acids in a case of
severe hypoglycemia.
4 Preiser, J-C., C. Ichai, J-C. Orban, and A. B. J. Groeneveld. "Metabolic response to the stress of critical
illness." British journal of anesthesia 113, no. 6 (2014): 945-954.

Reference list
Holeček, Miroslav, Jiří J. Mareš, Jaroslav Šesták, and Pavel Hubík. "What Is the Physical and
Operational Meaning of Temperature and Its Self-Measurability During Unsteady Thermal
Processes Within Thermodynamic Concepts?." In Thermal Physics and Thermal Analysis,
pp. 45-77. Springer, Cham, 2017.
Moore, Mary Courtney, Katie C. Coate, Jason J. Winnick, Zhibo An, and Alan D.
Cherrington. "Regulation of hepatic glucose uptake and storage in vivo." Advances in
nutrition 3, no. 3 (2012): 286-294.
Mussbacher, Marion, Julia B. Kral-Pointner, Manuel Salzmann, Waltraud C. Schrottmaier,
and Alice Assinger. "Mechanisms of Hemostasis: Contributions of Platelets, Coagulation
Factors, and the Vessel Wall." In Fundamentals of Vascular Biology, pp. 145-169. Springer,
Cham, 2019.
Preiser, J-C., C. Ichai, J-C. Orban, and A. B. J. Groeneveld. "Metabolic response to the stress
of critical illness." British journal of anesthesia 113, no. 6 (2014): 945-954.