diabetes

Term  diabetes

Literally meaning: "to pass through "

Origin: Ancient Greek 
δια/dia (=through) 
+ βαίνειν/venein(=to go)

Coined: Aretaeus the Cappadocian, physician of Alexandria, in 2cen, used this term in order to describe the disease characterised by thirsty and excessive discharge of urine in "Περί Αιτιών και Σημείων Οξέων και Χρονίων Παθών". Eugene J. Leopold in his text Aretaeus the Cappodacian translated Areataeu's diagnosis as "... For fluids do not remain in the body, but use the body anly as a channel through which they may flow out...".

In 17th cen an English doctor Der Thomas Willis (1621-1675), noticed that could diagnose diabetes by sampling urine and test it for sweet taste. In 1921 the Canadian scientist Frederick Banting(1891-1941) and Charles Best(1899-1978), found the beneficial effect of insulin from pancreas extract.

Definition
There are two distinct disorders that share the  name diabetes with two major symptoms : thirsty and polyuria
a) diabetes mellitus with high levels of sugar in the blood and b) diabetes insipidus. Diabetes melittus is discriminated from diabetes inspidus as patients have the blood sugar level higher than normal .

comments: Before Aretaeus ( 2c) in Ancient Greece diabetes was known as δίψα/thipsa or δίψακο/thipsako (=thirsty)  because of the false conception that the disease is emerged from the great desire for water .