Study Guide: Regulation of Blood Sugar and Absorption

To-Do Date: Sep 18 at 3:59pm

Cartoon

In the cartoon, two space explorers are back on earth.  They find a syringe and insulin and are disappointed that the future earth hadn't found a cure for diabetes. Do you think this is likely? How hopeful are you about solutions to this disease?

 

Diabetes comic, astronauts seeing a syringe, lamenting that diabetes wasn't cured.


We will continue our work to understand diabetes. Last week we focused on

 how glucose and other  monomers were transported by the blood and absorbed by all the cells of the body. This required that you learn about basic cell membrane structure and function

This week we are going examine how our bodies regulate both the concentration of sugar in our blood and the  absorption of sugar into the cells. As you can see from the flowchart below, this involves thinking about organs/organ systems and cells and cell membranes. 

Digestive system, diabetes flow chart

 

Text description of the highlighted portion of the Diabetes Flowchart (Word doc) Download Text description of the highlighted portion of the Diabetes Flowchart (Word doc)


Learning Objectives 

  • By the end of the module, students will be able to 
  • Explain and give examples of homeostasis
  • Describe the parts of a negative feedback loop 
  • Explain how negative feedback loops lead to homeostasis
  • Apply this information to blood glucose regulation and the role of the liver, pancreas, insulin, glucagon and cells of the body.
  • Describe cause of type 1 vs. type 2 diabetes