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  • Hormones secreted from adipose tissue, the gastrointestinal tract, and the pancreatic...
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Insulin and glucagon
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4:43
Insulin and Glucagon Overview
A. Hasudungan
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12:17
Endocrinology: Insulin
A. Hasudungan
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11:43
Insulin and glucagon
Khan Academy
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Diabetes Medications
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Diabetes Medication: Discovery of...
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Diabetes Mellitus and Insulin
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How to Use an Insulin Pen Patient...
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Related terms:
C-peptide
proinsulin
Hormone
insulin Audio
in·su·lin [ in-suh-lin, ins-yuh- ]
Subclass of:
Proinsulin
Etymology:
Latin insula = island + -in
Insulin is secreted by the "islets of Langerhans", groups of pancreatic cells.
Definitions related to insulin:
  • A 51-amino acid pancreatic hormone that plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, directly by suppressing endogenous glucose production (GLYCOGENOLYSIS; GLUCONEOGENESIS) and indirectly by suppressing GLUCAGON secretion and LIPOLYSIS. Native insulin is a globular protein comprised of a zinc-coordinated hexamer. Each insulin monomer containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues), linked by two disulfide bonds. Insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 1).
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • A hormone made by the pancreas that controls the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • Protein hormone secreted by beta cells of the pancreas; insulin plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, generally promoting the cellular utilization of glucose and is also an important regulator of protein and lipid metabolism; insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Insulin is an anabolic hormone that promotes glucose uptake, glycogenesis, lipogenesis, and protein synthesis of skeletal muscle and fat tissue through the tyrosine kinase receptor pathway. In addition, insulin is the most important factor in the regulation of plasma glucose homeostasis, as it counteracts glucagon and other catabolic...
    Medscape
    WebMD, 2025
  • Insulin, hormone that regulates the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood and that is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin is secreted when the level of blood glucose rises--as after a meal. When the level of blood glucose falls, secretion of insulin stops...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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