Pancreas in the context of "Endocrine system"

Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic alcohol use has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated there were 283 million people with alcohol use disorders worldwide as of 2016. The term alcoholism was first coined in 1852, but alcoholism and alcoholic are considered stigmatizing and likely to discourage seeking treatment, so diagnostic terms such as alcohol use disorder and alcohol dependence are often used instead in a clinical context. Other terms, some slurs and some informal, have been used to refer to people affected by alcoholism such as tippler, sot, drunk, drunkard, dipsomaniac and souse.

Alcohol is addictive, and heavy long-term use results in many negative health and social consequences. It can damage all organ systems, but especially affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. Heavy usage can result in trouble sleeping, and severe cognitive issues like dementia, brain damage, or Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Physical effects include irregular heartbeat, impaired immune response, cirrhosis, increased cancer risk, and severe withdrawal symptoms if stopped suddenly.

The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood. The body tightly regulates blood glucose levels as a part of metabolic homeostasis.

For a 70 kg (154 lb) human, approximately four grams of dissolved glucose (also called "blood glucose") is maintained in the blood plasma at all times. Glucose that is not circulating in the blood is stored in skeletal muscle and liver cells in the form of glycogen; in fasting individuals, blood glucose is maintained at a constant level by releasing just enough glucose from these glycogen stores in the liver and skeletal muscle in order to maintain homeostasis. Glucose can be transported from the intestines or liver to other tissues in the body via the bloodstream. Cellular glucose uptake is primarily regulated by insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Once inside the cell, the glucose can now act as an energy source as it undergoes the process of glycolysis.

The endocrine system is a network of glands and organs located throughout the body. Along with the nervous system, it makes the neuroendocrine system, which controls and regulates many of the body's functions. Endocrine glands are ductless glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood. The major glands of the endocrine system include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testicles, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, hypothalamus and adrenal glands. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands are neuroendocrine organs.

The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body. The process of digestion has three stages: the cephalic phase, the gastric phase, and the intestinal phase.

The first stage, the cephalic phase of digestion, begins with secretions from gastric glands in response to the sight and smell of food, and continues in the mouth with the mechanical breakdown of food by chewing, and the chemical breakdown by digestive enzymes in the saliva. Saliva contains amylase, and lingual lipase, secreted by the salivary glands, and serous glands on the tongue. Chewing mixes the food with saliva to produce a bolus to be swallowed down the esophagus to enter the stomach. The second stage, the gastric phase, takes place in the stomach, where the food is further broken down by mixing with gastric juice until it passes into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. The intestinal phase where the partially digested food is mixed with pancreatic digestive enzymes completes the process of digestion.

Digestive enzymes take part in the chemical process of digestion, which follows the mechanical process of digestion. Food consists of macromolecules of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that need to be broken down chemically by digestive enzymes in the mouth, stomach, pancreas, and duodenum, before being able to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Initial breakdown is achieved by chewing (mastication) and the use of digestive enzymes of saliva. Once in the stomach further mechanical churning takes place mixing the food with secreted gastric juice. Digestive gastric enzymes take part in some of the chemical process needed for absorption. Most of the enzymatic activity, and hence absorption takes place in the duodenum.

Digestive enzymes are found in the digestive tracts of animals (including humans) and in the tracts of carnivorous plants, where they aid in the digestion of food, as well as inside cells, especially in their lysosomes, where they function to maintain cellular survival.

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin or the cells of the body becoming unresponsive to insulin's effects. Classic symptoms include the three Ps: polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excessive urination), polyphagia (excessive hunger), weight loss, and blurred vision. If left untreated, the disease can lead to various health complications, including disorders of the cardiovascular system, eye, kidney, and nerves. Diabetes accounts for approximately 4.2 million deaths every year, with an estimated 1.5 million caused by either untreated or poorly treated diabetes.

The major types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. The most common treatment for type 1 is insulin replacement therapy (insulin injections), while anti-diabetic medications (such as metformin and semaglutide or tirzepatide) and lifestyle modifications can be used to manage type 2. Gestational diabetes, a form that sometimes arises during pregnancy, normally resolves shortly after delivery. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system attacks the beta cells (β-cell) in the pancreas, preventing the production of insulin. This condition is typically present from birth or develops early in life. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin, meaning the cells do not respond effectively to it, and thus, glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of being absorbed by the cells. Additionally, diabetes can also result from other specific causes, such as genetic conditions (monogenic diabetes syndromes like neonatal diabetes and maturity-onset diabetes of the young), diseases affecting the pancreas (such as pancreatitis), or the use of certain medications and chemicals (such as glucocorticoids, other specific drugs and after organ transplantation).

An action potential (also known as a nerve impulse or "spike" when in a neuron) is a series of quick changes in voltage across a cell membrane. An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell rapidly rises and falls. This "depolarization" (physically, a reversal of the polarization of the membrane) then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of excitable cells, which include animal cells like neurons and muscle cells, as well as some plant cells. Certain endocrine cells such as pancreatic beta cells, and certain cells of the anterior pituitary gland are also excitable cells.

In neurons, action potentials play a central role in cell–cell communication by providing for—or with regard to saltatory conduction, assisting—the propagation of signals along the neuron's axon toward synaptic boutons situated at the ends of an axon; these signals can then connect with other neurons at synapses, or to motor cells or glands. In other types of cells, their main function is to activate intracellular processes. In muscle cells, for example, an action potential is the first step in the chain of events leading to contraction. In beta cells of the pancreas, they provoke release of insulin. The temporal sequence of action potentials generated by a neuron is called its "spike train". A neuron that emits an action potential, or nerve impulse, is often said to "fire".