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insulin

(Encyclopedia)insulin, hormone secreted by the β cells of the islets of Langerhans, specific groups of cells in the pancreas. Insufficiency of insulin in the body results in diabetes. Insulin was one of the first ...

diabetes

(Encyclopedia)diabetes or diabetes mellitus məlīˈtəs [key], chronic disorder of glucose (sugar) metabolism caused by inadequate production or use of insulin, a hormone produced in specialized cells (beta cells ...

insulin shock

(Encyclopedia)insulin shock: see hyperinsulinism. ...

antidiabetic drug

(Encyclopedia)antidiabetic drug, any of several drugs that control blood sugar level in the treatment of diabetes. See insulin. ...

hyperinsulinism

(Encyclopedia)hyperinsulinism, presence in the system of an above-normal amount of insulin, the substance secreted by the pancreas and needed by the body to utilize sugar. An increased amount of insulin in the body...

pancreas

(Encyclopedia)pancreas pănˈkrēəs [key], glandular organ that secretes digestive enzymes and hormones. In humans, the pancreas is a yellowish organ about 7 in. (17.8 cm) long and 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) wide. It lies b...

Macleod, John James Rickard

(Encyclopedia)Macleod, John James Rickard məkloudˈ [key], 1876–1935, Scottish physiologist, educated at Aberdeen and Leipzig. He was a professor at Western Reserve Univ. (1903–18) and at the Univ. of Toronto...

Best, Charles Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Best, Charles Herbert, 1899–1978, Canadian physiologist, b. West Pembroke, Maine. With F. G. Banting and J. R. R. Macleod he discovered (1921) the use of insulin in the treatment of diabetes. He was...

du Vigneaud, Vincent

(Encyclopedia)du Vigneaud, Vincent dyo͞o vēnˈyō [key], 1901–78, American biochemist, b. Chicago. He was professor of biochemistry and head of the department at George Washington Univ. school of medicine (1932...

gigantism

(Encyclopedia)gigantism, condition in which an animal or plant is far greater than normal in size. Plants are often deliberately bred to increase their size. However, among animals, gigantism is usually the result ...