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Hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia occurs when there is an excessive amount of glucose circulating in the blood plasma. Etymology hyper- in Greek meaning "too much"; -glyc- in Greek meaning "sweet"; -emia meaning "of blood".

It is the basic and most consistent finding in all types of diabetes mellitus.

In fasting adults blood plasma glucose should not exceed 100 mg%. Sustained higher levels of blood sugar cause damage to the blood vessels and to the organs they supply, leading to the complications of diabetes.

The opposite of hyperglycemia is hypoglycemia.

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