Diabetes mellitus: the origins of a not so sweet term

Abstract

Very frequently in medical practice, reference is made to the term diabetes mellitus, but we hardly ask ourselves its etymological or historical origin, since it does not correspond to words of the English or Spanish language. The truth is that this concept has been built over the years, since ancient times, to describe a pathological phenomenon that was not yet widely known. From this, it is curious and useful to understand the connotations that different thinkers and scientists have given to the term through a brief investigation of what has already been published in different scientific texts, in order to understand diabetes mellitus not only as a disease with its consequent subclassifications, but as a historical phenomenon that has changed the course of humanity and medical practice to the present.

There are records of the existence of diabetes mellitus from around 1500 BC. that come from different cultures such as Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, among others. Over the years, it was possible to recognize and describe the signs and symptoms that characterize it, but there were difficulties in identifying the causes responsible for this condition. The extensive study of this condition by various historical figures has managed to establish different entities and forms of manifestation, such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, diabetes insipidus, etc., which to date has undergone modifications according to new scientific findings.