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insulin
[< NL insula island + E -in]
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
an extract from the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, used in the treatment of diabetes.
Quotations
1922
Purified alcohol extract of pancreas, for which we suggest the name insulin, when injected subcutaneously into normal rabbits, cause the percentage of sugar in the blood to fall within a few hours.
1948
1921 . . . Frederick Banting and Charles H. Best administer the first injection of insulin given to a human diabetic--"insulin," a word that is to become a synonym for "miracle" to millions of diabetic sufferers who would otherwise be doomed to die.
1958
. . . the required insulin dosage can be more accurately determined when a patient is ambulant with routine similar to normal daily activity.