Why is Diabetes called Diabetes mellitus? History, Origin and Research
We all want to know about how the world’s most daunting sugar disease Diabetes came into existence and who were the people responsible for its discovery? If you have ever wondered why Diabetes is called Diabetes mellitus, you must know that ‘Mel’ means ‘Honey’ in Latin and the word is an extension of it. There is a rich history behind the origins as well as the discovery of the disease which we all must be aware of. Millions of people in the world are suffering from Diabetes and it is taking a toll on a lot of lives. Diabetes, also popularly known as ‘Madhumeha’ in Hindi is said to have lasting impacts on the body which can only be cured by proper medical treatment and improving lifestyle habits.
Diabetes History
The history of Diabetes mellitus dates back to the 16th century B.C. where people started noticing symptoms of a mysterious disease. It was only when an Egyptian Physician named Hesy-Ra started noticing frequent urination. They also noticed that ants started getting attracted towards the urine which indicated that it had sugar content. This is when the discovery for the disease started taking its roots. At first, a Greek Physician known as Arateus also termed the disease as the melting down of flesh and limbs into urine. After some centuries, people also tasted other’s urine and if it felt sweet, the person was said to have Diabetes.
Origin of Diabetes mellitus
As the food habits of humans kept changing and sugar became an important part of our lives, Diabetes has become a common disease these days. But the origins were very scarce. The first person to have been detected with Diabetes must have lived in the 15th century. When it was originated, people were usually told to exercise or ride on horseback which had the ability to cure excessive urination. However, the first person who took a medical treatment including an injection of insulin was Leonard Thompson on 11th January, 1922 when he was just 14 years old.
Research on Diabetes Mellitus
It is only through sheer research that scientists and professionals can have groundbreaking discoveries. In 1889, Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski did some research work on the subject and found that Diabetes was due to pancreas. Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer in the year 1910 successfully made a research and found that the disease is caused due to lack of insulin. So if you want to consider just a single name for who discovered Diabetes mellitus, it would be difficult as all of those who put in their hard work are behind the discovery but the above 3 scientists are often credited with major discoveries related to Diabetes mellitus.
Hi — it may interest you to know that Diabetes Mellitus is the designation for forms of diabetes that have to do with the body’s ability to utilize sugar.
Many people writing on DM mistakenly believe that all form of diabetes are about sugar, but what all forms of diabetes have in common is the effect they have on urination. For instance, Diabetes Insipidus has nothing to do with sugar, but does put people at risk of dehydration because of frequent urination having nothing to do with sugar levels.
As a type 1 diabetic, I used to get annoyed by people always assuming type 1 and type 2 were the same disease. Then I met someone with DI who felt the same way about people thinking all diabetes was about sugar.
It really opened my eyes.