Exercise 4: Endocrine System Physiology: Activity 2: Plasma Glucose, Insulin, and Diabetes Mellitus Lab Report
Pre-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly.
1. Which of the following statements is false?
You correctly answered: d. Insulin is a hormone secreted into the stomach to aid with starch digestion.
2. Which of the following statements is true?
You correctly answered: d. All of these statements are true.
3. A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus implies that
You correctly answered: b. the pancreas is not producing sufficient insulin.
4. A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus implies that
You correctly answered: c. the cells of the body are unresponsive to circulating insulin.
5. Glucagon is a hormone
You correctly answered: b. that opposes the action of insulin.
Experiment Results
Predict Question:
Predict Question: To measure the amount of plasma glucose in a patient sample
Your answer : b. the optical density of the sample will be measured and the glucose concentration will be extrapolated from
the glucose standard curve.
Stop & Think Questions:
Why does the color in the tubes vary?
You correctly answered: c. The tubes contain different amounts of glucose.
Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 6 out of 6 questions correctly.
1. A male patient has had successive fasting plasma glucose readings of 115, 110, and 122 mg/dl. The healthcare provider
will inform him that
You correctly answered: c. he appears to have impairment or borderline impairment of insulin-mediated glucose uptake by
his cells.
2. To obtain an accurate spectrophotometric measurement of the glucose concentration in the sample
You correctly answered: d. heparin is added to prevent blood clots.
3. In the spectrophotometric assay used in this experiment, the __________ as the glucose concentration in the sample
increases.
You correctly answered: b. optical density increases
4. A female patient has had successive fasting plasma glucose readings of 130, 140, and 128 mg/dl. The healthcare
provider will inform her that
You correctly answered: a. she has developed diabetes.
5. To maintain plasma glucose homeostasis
You correctly answered: d. insulin-mediated transport of glucose into cells acts as negative feedback when plasma glucose
levels rise.
6. A laboratory technician withdraws a blood sample from a vein in your upper arm knowing that
You correctly answered: b. the plasma glucose concentration will be the same in both the arm vein and the index finger.
Review Sheet Results
1. What is a glucose standard curve, and why did you need to obtain one for this experiment? Did you correctly predict how you would measure the amount of plasma glucose in a patient sample using the glucose standard curve?
Your answer:
A glucose standard curve is a method for identifying blood glucose levels. It correlates the intensity of the color obtained and measured on a spectrophotometer (optical density) to the glucose concentration. I predicted correctly.
2. Which patient(s) had glucose reading(s) in the diabetic range? Can you say with certainty whether each of these patients has type 1 or type 2 diabetes? Why or why not?
Your answer:
Patients 1 and 5 were in the diabetic range. Yes I can say with certainty because Type 1 is if the pancreas is not producing sufficient insulin, and Type 2 is if the cells in the body are unresponsive to circulating insulin.
3. Describe the diagnosis for patient 3, who was also pregnant at the time of this assay.
Your answer:
This would be gestational diabtetes, which often disappears after the pregnancy is over.
4. Which patient(s) had normal glucose reading(s)?
Your answer:
Patient 1
5. What are some lifestyle choices these patients with normal plasma glucose readings might recommend to the borderline impaired patients?
Your answer:
Follow a controlled diet with minimal sugar intake to keep the glucose readings at normal levels, and also exercise regularly.
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