Diabetes Glossary

a large blood vessel that carries blood with oxygen from the heart to all parts of the body.

(ASS-part): a rapid-acting insulin . On average, aspart insulin (Novolog) starts to lower blood glucose within 10 to 20 minutes after injection . It has its strongest Read more»

(ASS-per-tame): a dietary sweetener with almost no calories and no nutritional value. (Brand names: Equal, NutraSweet.)

no symptoms; no clear sign of disease present.  

(ATH-uh-row-skluh-RO-sis): clogging, narrowing, and hardening of the body’s large arteries and medium-sized blood vessels . Atherosclerosis can lead to stroke , heart attack, eye problems, and Read more»

(AW-toh-ih-MYOON): disorder of the body’s immune system in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys body tissue that it believes to be foreign. Read more»

(aw-toh-NOM-ik ne-ROP-uh-thee): a type of neuropathy affecting the lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, bladder, or genitals.

Brand name for rosiglitazone .

(REH-tih-NOP-uh-thee): a type of damage to the retina of the eye marked by bleeding, fluid accumulation, and abnormal dilation of the blood vessels . Background Read more»

a steady trickle of low levels of longer-acting insulin , such as that used in insulin pumps .

a cell that makes insulin . Beta cells are located in the islets of the pancreas .

(by-GWAH-nide): a class of oral medicine used to treat type 2 diabetes that lowers blood glucose by reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver and by helping Read more»

blood glucose, or commonly referred to as blood sugar, is the form of energy circulating in the blood stream. Blood glucose is Read more»

the amount of glucose in a given amount of blood. It is noted in milligrams in a deciliter, or mg/dL.

a small, portable machine used by people with diabetes to check their blood sugar levels . After pricking the skin with a lancet , one places Read more»