[dahy-uh-bee-tis, -teez] 
| 1. | any of several disorders characterized by increased urine production. |
| 2. | Also called diabe⋅tes mel⋅li⋅tus [mel-i-tuh s, muh-lahy-] . a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, usually occurring in genetically predisposed individuals, characterized by inadequate production or utilization of insulin and resulting in excessive amounts of glucose in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, weight loss, and in some cases progressive destruction of small blood vessels leading to such complications as infections and gangrene of the limbs or blindness. |
| 3. | Also called Type I diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes. a severe form of diabetes mellitus in which insulin production by the beta cells of the pancreas is impaired, usually resulting in dependence on externally administered insulin, the onset of the disease typically occurring before the age of 25. |
| 4. | Also called Type II diabetes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, adult-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes. a mild, sometimes asymptomatic form of diabetes mellitus characterized by diminished tissue sensitivity to insulin and sometimes by impaired beta cell function, exacerbated by obesity and often treatable by diet and exercise. |
| 5. | Also called diabe⋅tes in⋅sip⋅i⋅dus [in-sip-i-duhs] . increased urine production caused by inadequate secretion of vasopressin by the pituary gland. |
| di·a·be·tes (dī'ə-bē'tĭs, -tēz) n. Any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive discharge of urine and persistent thirst, especially one of the two types of diabetes mellitus. [Middle English diabete, from Medieval Latin diabētēs, from Latin, from Greek, siphon, diabetes, from diabainein, to cross over, straddle : dia-, dia- + bainein, to go; see gwā- in Indo-European roots.] Word History: Diabetes is named for one of its distressing symptoms. The disease was known to the Greeks as diabētēs, 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 diabētēs meant "one that straddles," or specifically "a compass, siphon." The sense "siphon" gave rise to the use of diabētēs 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. |
diabetes di·a·be·tes (dī'ə-bē'tĭs, -tēz)
n.
Any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive discharge of urine and persistent thirst, especially one of the two types of diabetes mellitus.
