Ch. 16 The Endocrine System

Marieb - Human Anatomy & Physiology 11th Edition

Marieb, Hoehn11th EditionHuman Anatomy & PhysiologyISBN: 9780136874034Not the one you use?Change textbook

Marieb, Hoehn 11th Edition

Ch. 16 The Endocrine System

Problem 22

Chapter 16, Problem 22

How are the hyperglycemia and lipidemia of insulin deficiency linked?

Verified step by step guidance

Step 1: Understand the role of insulin in normal metabolism. Insulin promotes glucose uptake by cells and stimulates the storage of glucose as glycogen, while also inhibiting the breakdown of fats (lipolysis).

Step 2: Recognize that in insulin deficiency, cells cannot effectively take up glucose, leading to elevated blood glucose levels, a condition known as hyperglycemia.

Step 3: Note that without insulin's inhibitory effect on lipolysis, fat breakdown in adipose tissue increases, releasing free fatty acids into the bloodstream, which causes elevated lipid levels, or lipidemia.

Step 4: Connect the two phenomena by explaining that the lack of insulin simultaneously causes glucose to remain in the blood (hyperglycemia) and increases fat breakdown (lipidemia), as the body shifts to using fats for energy due to cellular glucose deprivation.

Step 5: Summarize that hyperglycemia and lipidemia in insulin deficiency are linked through the loss of insulin's regulatory effects on both carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, resulting in elevated blood glucose and lipid levels.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Role of Insulin in Glucose Metabolism

Insulin is a hormone that facilitates the uptake of glucose by cells, promoting its storage as glycogen and usage for energy. In insulin deficiency, glucose uptake is impaired, leading to elevated blood glucose levels, known as hyperglycemia.

Insulin's Effect on Lipid Metabolism

Insulin inhibits lipolysis, the breakdown of fat stored in adipose tissue. When insulin is deficient, increased lipolysis releases free fatty acids into the bloodstream, causing elevated lipid levels or lipidemia.

Metabolic Link Between Hyperglycemia and Lipidemia in Insulin Deficiency

In insulin deficiency, impaired glucose utilization forces the body to rely on fat breakdown for energy, increasing free fatty acids in blood. This dual effect causes both hyperglycemia and lipidemia, linking carbohydrate and lipid metabolic disturbances.

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Related Practice

Textbook Question

Mary Morgan has just been brought into the emergency room of City General Hospital. She is perspiring profusely and is breathing rapidly and irregularly. Her breath smells like acetone (sweet and fruity), and her blood glucose tests out at 650 mg/100 ml of blood. She is in acidosis. Which hormone drug should be administered, and why?

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Textbook Question

Roger Proulx has severe arthritis and has been taking prednisone (a glucocorticoid) for two months. He isn't feeling well, complains of repeated 'colds,' and is extremely 'puffy' (edematous). Explain the reason for these symptoms.

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Textbook Question

Which type of hormone receptor—plasma membrane bound or intracellular—would be expected to provide the most long-lived response to hormone binding and why?

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Textbook Question

List some problems that elderly people might have as a result of decreasing hormone production.

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Textbook Question

Name two endocrine glands (or regions) that are important in the stress response, and explain why they are important.

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Textbook Question

Kyle, a 5-year-old boy, has been growing by leaps and bounds; his height is 100% above normal for his age. He has been complaining of headaches and vision problems. A CT scan reveals a large pituitary tumor.

(a) Which hormone is being secreted in excess?

(b) What condition will Kyle exhibit if corrective measures are not taken?

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