Mohit, a 30-year-old man was a software professional leading a sedentary life. He showed signs of high blood sugar during a routine health check-up despite having a normal body weight.
Name the organ that secretes this hormone.
Topic: Pancreas — islets of Langerhans
Answer
The PANCREAS — specifically the beta cells of the ISLETS OF LANGERHANS.
Naming the pancreas earns the mark, but adding the ISLETS OF LANGERHANS shows precise knowledge and costs three words.
Within the islets: BETA cells secrete INSULIN, which lowers blood glucose. ALPHA cells secrete GLUCAGON, which raises it.
THE POINT WORTH KNOWING: the pancreas is a HETEROCRINE (mixed) gland — it works as both an exocrine and an endocrine gland. The exocrine part pours pancreatic juice with its digestive enzymes into the duodenum through a DUCT; the endocrine part, the islets, releases insulin and glucagon DIRECTLY INTO THE BLOOD with no duct at all. Examiners like asking for an example of such a gland, and the pancreas is the standard answer.