DCHP-1 Online
insulin [< NL insula island + E -in] 
n. an extract from the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, used in the treatment of diabetes.
- 1922 Purified alcohol extract of pancreas, for which we suggest the name insulin, when injected subcutaneously into normal rabbits, cause the percentage of sugar in the blood to fall within a few hours.
- 1948 1921 . . . Frederick Banting and Charles H. Best administer the first injection of insulin given to a human diabetic--"insulin," a word that is to become a synonym for "miracle" to millions of diabetic sufferers who would otherwise be doomed to die.
- 1958 . . . the required insulin dosage can be more accurately determined when a patient is ambulant with routine similar to normal daily activity.
- 1922 Purified alcohol extract of pancreas, for which we suggest the name insulin, when injected subcutaneously into normal rabbits, cause the percentage of sugar in the blood to fall within a few hours.