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 | | More than 151,000 people under the age of 20 with Type I Diabetes |
Diabetes Glossary
blood sugar
n.
1. The concentration of glucose in the blood, measured in milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of blood.
di·a·be·tes
n.
Any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive discharge of urine and persistent thirst, especially one of the two types of diabetes mellitus.
Word History: Diabetes is named for one of its distressing symptoms. The disease was known to the Greeks as diab t s, a word derived from the verb diabainein, made up of the prefix dia-, "across, apart," and the word bainein, "to walk, stand." The verb diabeinein meant "to stride, walk, or stand with legs asunder" hence, its derivative diabetes meant "one that straddles," or specifically "a compass, siphon." The sense "siphon" gave rise to the use of diabetes as the name for a disease involving the discharge of excessive amounts of urine. Diabetes is first recorded in English, in the form diabete, in a medical text written around 1425.
glu·ca·gon
n.
A hormone produced by the pancreas that stimulates an increase in blood sugar levels, thus opposing the action of insulin.
glu·cose
n.
A monosaccharide sugar that serves as the major energy source of the body; it occurs in most plant and animal tissue. Also called dextrose.
[French, from Greek glukus, sweet]
im·mu·no·sup·pres·sion
n.
Suppression of the immune response, as by drugs or radiation, in order to prevent the rejection of grafts or transplants or to control autoimmune diseases.
im mu·no·sup·pres sant (-pr s nt) n.
im mu·no·sup·pressed (-pr st ) adj.
im mu·no·sup·pres sive adj.
in·su·lin
n.
1. A polypeptide hormone that is secreted by the islets of Langerhans, helps regulate the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, especially the conversion of glucose to glycogen, and promotes protein synthesis and the formation and storage of neutral lipids.
2. Any of various pharmaceutical preparations containing this hormone that are derived from the pancreas of certain animals or produced through genetic engineering and are used parenterally in the medical treatment and management of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
is·lets of Lang·er·hans
pl.n.
Irregular clusters of endocrine cells scattered throughout the tissue of the pancreas that secrete insulin and glucagon. Also called islands of Langerhans.
[After Paul Langerhans (1847-1888), German pathologist]
pancreas
n.
A large lobulated gland that in humans lies in front of the upper lumbar vertebrae and behind the stomach and is somewhat hammer-shaped and firmly attached anteriorly to the curve of the duodenum with which it communicates through one or more pancreatic ducts and that consists of (1) tubular acini secreting digestive enzymes which pass to the intestine and function in the breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates; (2) modified acinar cells that form islets of Langerhans between the tubules and secrete the hormones insulin and glucagon; and (3) a firm connective-tissue capsule that extends supportive strands into the organ.
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