Medical Health Encyclopedia

Triglyceride level

How the test will feel:

When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain, while others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.

Why the test is performed:

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Triglycerides are often measured as a reflection of fat (lipid) ingestion and metabolism, or as part of an evaluation of coronary risk factors.

Triglycerides comprise the largest proportion of fats (lipids) in the diet, in the adipose tissue, and in the blood. Immediately after a meal, triglycerides appear in the blood as the major constituent of chylomicrons.

Under normal circumstances, triglycerides within chylomicrons are stripped of fatty acids as they pass through various tissues (especially adipose and skeletal muscle). The chylomicron remnant is then taken up by the liver so that chylomicrons disappear from the blood within 2 or 3 hours.

The remaining triglycerides, plus additional triglycerides synthesized within the liver, are then re-packaged as VLDL and secreted into the blood from the liver.

Triglycerides are a storage form of energy. They are stored in adipose tissue and muscle, and gradually released and metabolized between meals according to the energy needs of the body.

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