diabetes

/duy'euh bee"tis, -teez/, n. Pathol.

1. any of several disorders characterized by increased urine production.

2. Also called diabetes mellitus /mel"i teuhs, meuh luy"-/. 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 diabetes insipidus /in sip"i deuhs/. increased urine production caused by inadequate secretion of vasopressin by the pituary gland.

[1555-65; < NL, L < Gk, equiv. to diabe- (var. s. of diabaínein to go through, pass over, equiv. to dia- DIA- + baínein to pass) + -tes agent suffix]

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      either of two disorders of the endocrine system. For information about the disorder caused by the body's inability to produce or respond to insulin and characterized by abnormal glucose levels in the blood, see diabetes mellitus. For information about the disorder characterized by excessive thirst and dilute urine, caused by lack of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, see diabetes insipidus.

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