Explain the role of the pancreas in controlling blood glucose levels when they are too high.

Blood glucose levels increase after the consumption of carbohydrates. To answer this question, it is important to understand how the pancreas works. The pancreas is an organ that releases hormones - it is an endocrine gland. It is made up of a variety of different cells, which can be found in structures known islets of Langerhans. One of these cell types is the beta cell, which secretes the hormone insulin. Hormones are chemicals that affect cellular responses to other chemicals, and can affect cell activity. Insulin binds to receptors on liver and muscle cells. This increases membrane permeability to glucose, which means more glucose is taken up by cells, where it is used as a source of energy. This therefore reduces the amount of glucose in the blood. Insulin also works to activate enzymes in the liver that convert glucose to its storage form: glycogen; this also reduces blood glucose levels. This process is known as glycogenesis. To supplement this explanation, I would add a diagram of the pancreas to show the beta cells, as well as schematics to show how insulin binds to receptors.