Pancreas y Hormonas

Hi guys, in this video we're going to talk about the function of the pancreas. We're going to talk specifically about the endocrine function of the pancreas, since, as we saw earlier, it also has a digestive function. The pancreas itself wo n't be the focus of this video. From an endocrine point of view, the

pancreas has unique clusters with different characteristics. Some of these clusters are called the islets of Langerhans. They have different types of cells: alpha cells and beta cells. The alpha cells secrete glucagon and represent approximately 20 percent of the total islets of Langerhans. The beta cells, which represent approximately 75 percent of the islets, are the ones that secrete

insulin. Each of these hormones, insulin and glucagon, performs specific functions that we'll see later, but we can say, broadly speaking, that their main functions—let's delve deeper—are that insulin produces hypoglycemia, meaning it lowers blood glucose levels. We'll discuss how and why. And glucagon... What this produces is hyperglycemia, meaning it increases the amount of glucose circulating

in the blood. This will happen in response to different stimuli and situations. We'll see this in a moment. I'll clarify what glycemia is. For some, glycemia is the amount of glucose constantly circulating in the blood, and normal glycemia is between 70 and 110 milligrams per deciliter. Within this range, fasting blood glucose is considered normal. It

fluctuates constantly throughout the day depending on different factors such as fasting, large meals, and physical activity. These factors cause constant changes, and that's where glucagon and insulin begin to act to restore normal levels.