D iabetes has been known for a ubiquity. The oldest known description of diabetes was mentioned in a papyrus dating from 1550 BC found in a sarcophagus in Luxor, Egypt. 1 In 600 BC, Sushruta and Charaka described a condition called "Madhumeha" (honey urine) in their Ayurvedic Medicine books. 1 The name 'Diabetes' was coined by Demetrius of Apamea, based on the Greek term 'diabainein" (siphon) which refers to symptoms of polyuria. 3 In the 1600s, by Thomas Wills added the name 'mellitus' to indicate sweet taste of urine. 2
The Discovery of InsulinBy 1912, it was known that destruction of the exocrine pancreas did not produce any glycosuria, which, instead, was manifested after the destruction of the Langerhans Islands. There were many scholars in several countries that helped to arrive in this conclusion.These prior discoveries helped scientists who we now consider as the scientists that discovered insulin; Fredrick Banting, Charles Best, James Macleod and James Collip. Surprisingly, except for Macleod none of the others had any training in endocrinology. Michel Bliss beautifully described the discovery of Insulin in his book. 3 Fredrick Banting was trained in Orthopaedics in Canadian army medical service. During the World War 1, he was severely wounded in his arm, which barely escaped amputation. After the recovery he joined general practice in Ontario which was not successful. Therefore he worked as a demonstrator in the university as a part time job.