Hypoglycaemia

Abstract

During intrauterine life the foetal tissues receive a constant supply of glucose from maternal blood through the placenta; after birth and until feeding is established there is an interval during which the newborn has to depend upon his own reserves of carbohydrate for his glucose requirements. These stores have been laid down during the latter part of gestation in the form of glycogen in the liver, in skeletal muscle and in the cardiac muscle. Of these, the most important is liver glycogen, since it is available for conversion to glucose and subsequent metabolism for the production of energy.