blood glucose

• what are glucose important for?

  respiration
• what happens if an organism doesn't have enough glucose?

  it cannot produce enough energy via respiration.
• what happens if blood glucose levels are too high?

  it can have a negative impact on osmosis (movement of water between cells) by affecting concentration gradients.
• what is the optimal blood glucose range for humans?

  6-8 mmol/dm^3
• what is glycogen?

  a form of glucose that is insoluble and can be used for later use.
• what is the first stage when too much glucose have been detected in the blood?

  the high concentration of blood glucose is detected as it flows through the pancreas. This triggers the pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream.
• what is the second stage whe too much glucose have been detected in the blood?

  the presence of insulin is detected by the liver and muscle tissues which take in the excess glucose and convert it into glycogen which can be stored for later use.
• what is the final stage when too much glucose is detected in the blood?

  this process continues until the pancreas detects a normal blood glucose concentration.
• which part of the body detects blood glucose levels being too high?

  pancreas
• the presence of insulin in the blood is detected by which parts of the body?

  the liver and muscle tissue.
• what is the role of the liver and muscle tissue when the levels of blood glucose are too high?

  they take in the excess glucose and convert it into glycogen which can be stored for later use.
• which substance is released by the pancreas after detecting too little glucose in the blood?

  glucagon
• what happens once the liver detects the presence of glucagon?

  the liver converts stores of glycogen back into glucose so they can be released into the bloodstream. This process continues until the pancreas detects a normal blood glucose concentration.