Video Transcript
True or False: The liver is a major
endocrine gland and produces multiple hormones, including insulin.
When we eat food, especially food
that is rich in carbohydrates like bread for example, these carbohydrates are broken
down in our digestive system into simple sugars like glucose. Glucose is absorbed from the
digestive tract and into the bloodstream where it dissolves in the blood, which can
transport it all around the body to the cells that need it, for example, muscle
cells.
When blood glucose levels are high,
an endocrine gland called the pancreas produces and releases a hormone called
insulin, which travels through the bloodstream. Insulin targets all sorts of cells
in the body including our muscle cells and allow them to take up the glucose that
they need for cellular respiration. Glucose that is not used by the
cells is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen. This can provide an energy source
that elucidate when no food is available.
As the body utilizes or stores
glucose, the levels of glucose decrease in the blood. When blood glucose levels are low,
for example, during a period of fasting, the pancreas produces and releases a
different hormone called glucagon. Glucagon instructs the liver to
break down glycogen to release glucose. Glucose can then enter the
bloodstream and return it to a normal blood glucose level. In this way, the actions of insulin
and glucagon can balance the levels of blood glucose.
Although the liver is involved in
the regulation of blood glucose levels by storing glycogen, it does not produce
insulin. It is the pancreas that can produce
and secrete both insulin and glucagon in response to high or low blood glucose
levels. The statement is therefore
false.
