Sources and disposition of fetal glucose: studies in the fetal lamb

Abstract

Three aspects of fetal glucose metabolism are studied in the pregnant sheep: source of fetal glucose, rates and routes of fetal glucose disposal, and how these processes are regulated in the fetus. However, extrapolation of findings in the fetal sheep to the condition existing in the human must be made with great caution. This is mainly due to the fact that sheep are ruminants that obtain much of their energy from volatile fatty acids and fetal sheep have low glucose and high fructose concentrations.