Pancreas:
> produces digestive enzymes and hormones
> hormone producing cells are in the islets of Langerhans
> islets contain beta (produce insulin hormone) and alpha cells (produce glucagon hormone)
Insulin:
> produced in beta cells
> released when blood sugar level increases
> cause muscle cells, the liver and other organs, to become permeable to glucose decreasing blood sugar level
> inside of cell, glucose is converted in to glycogen for storage
> causes decrease in blood sugar level
Glucagon:
> produced in alpha cells
> released when blood sugar levels decrease
> causes conversion of glycogen to glucose, which is released into the blood
> causes increase in blood sugar level
Diabetes:
>disease caused by insufficient production or use of insulin
> chronic with no cure
> causes many deaths and if left untreated causes blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, and nontraumatic limp amputation
