Which organ produces insulin?
General information only. This article explains the basics and is not medical advice. For anything about your own health, talk to a doctor or other qualified professional.
Quick answer
The pancreas produces insulin. Special clusters of cells called the islets of Langerhans contain beta cells that release insulin into the blood after you eat. Insulin helps cells take in glucose (sugar) for energy, keeping blood sugar levels in a healthy range.
Where is the pancreas?
The pancreas is a long, flat organ about 15 cm (6 inches) long, tucked behind the stomach in the upper abdomen.
The pancreas has two jobs
| Role | What it does |
|---|---|
| Endocrine (hormones) | Islet cells release insulin and glucagon directly into the blood to control blood sugar |
| Exocrine (digestion) | Makes digestive enzymes that flow into the small intestine to break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates |
How insulin and glucagon balance blood sugar
- After eating, blood sugar rises, and beta cells release insulin, helping muscle, fat and liver cells absorb glucose.
- Between meals, blood sugar falls, and alpha cells release glucagon, telling the liver to release stored sugar.
Together they work like a thermostat for blood sugar.
When insulin doesn’t work properly
Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar stays too high:
- In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys the beta cells, so the body makes little or no insulin.
- In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t respond to insulin properly and may not make enough.
Diagnosis and treatment should always be handled by a doctor.
A Nobel-winning discovery
In 1921, Canadian scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best, working in the lab of John Macleod, isolated insulin. The next year, a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson became the first person with diabetes treated with it. Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize.
For more about the body’s organs, see the largest internal organ. Proteins like insulin are built from amino acids.
Sources
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