# insulin

Pronunciation: US say "IN-suh-lin" /ˈɪnsəlɪn/; UK say "IN-syuu-lin" /ˈɪnsjʊlin/

## Noun

1. A polypeptide hormone that regulates how the body processes carbohydrates in humans and other animals.
   - Simple: A natural body chemical that controls how the body uses sugar from food.
   - _The pancreas releases insulin in response to rising blood glucose after eating._
   - _Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of entering cells._
2. A preparation of the hormone insulin produced outside the body and used as a medication.
   - Simple: A medicine that contains the hormone insulin, given to people whose bodies do not make enough of it.
   - _The clinic ran short of insulin during the supply disruption._
   - _He learned to draw insulin into a syringe before each meal._
3. A preparation of the hormone insulin or its laboratory-made analogues, used as a medication.
   - Simple: A medicine made from the hormone insulin or from man-made copies of it, used to treat diabetes.
   - _Long-acting insulin keeps glucose steady overnight, while rapid types cover individual meals._
   - _Modern formulations of insulin are engineered to mimic the body's natural release pattern._

## Origin

Formed from Latin "insula" ("island") plus the suffix "-in," named after the islets of Langerhans, the parts of the body where insulin is produced.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/insulin (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).