If you've ever paused mid-injection and thought, "Wait... why is it even called insulin?" you're not alone. It's one of our everyday words we throw around in the diabetes world, but hardly anyone stops to ask where it came from.
So today, we’re going full diabetes trivia mode and answering that very question.
🧬 Where Does the Word ‘Insulin’ Come From?
The name insulin actually has surprisingly poetic roots. It comes from the Latin word “insula,” which means “island.”
But what does an island have to do with blood sugar?
It’s a nod to the Islets of Langerhans, the tiny clusters of cells in your pancreas that look a bit like little islands under a microscope. These islets are responsible for producing insulin in people without diabetes. In those of us with type one diabetes, our immune systems went rogue and decided to destroy those poor little islets.
🧠 So, Who Named It?
That honour goes to Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer a British physiologist. He coined the term insulin in the early 1900s, before insulin had even been isolated, based on the theory that the pancreas produced a substance (from the islets) that controlled blood sugar.
He was right. And a couple of decades later, Banting and Best came along, discovered insulin, and made it the life-saving hormone we know and rely on today.
💉 A Tiny Word, a Massive Impact
Insulin might be a short word, but it carries a huge weight in our lives. Whether you're:
injecting it five times a day, running a pump like a cyborg queen or looping with high-tech wizardry, you’re relying on this island-born hormone to keep you alive and thriving.
It’s easy to take it for granted in the day-to-day hustle, but insulin is nothing short of life-saving. It's literal magic bottled up in a vial or pen.
Save This One for Your Diabetes Trivia Stash
Next time someone hits you with a “fun fact” about diabetes, you can say:
"Did you know insulin gets its name from the Latin word for ‘island’ because it’s made in the Islets of Langerhans in your pancreas?"
Boom. Instant diabetes trivia queen. 👑
