Okuzeka
Medicine vocabulary · Prescriptions and Medication

Insulin

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈɪnsəlɪn/nounCore term

In medicine, insulin means: A hormone made by the pancreas that lowers blood glucose; it is also given as a medicine, usually by injection, to people with diabetes.

In Turkish: insülin

How it is used

Doctors talk about types (rapid-acting, long-acting, basal-bolus regimens) and ask patients how they manage their insulin. People with type 1 diabetes always need insulin; some people with type 2 start it later. Patients may use insulin pens or a pump.

Example sentences

  1. He has had type 1 diabetes since childhood and uses an insulin pump.

  2. Her blood glucose stayed high on tablets, so she was started on insulin.

Common collocations

  • start insulin
  • insulin pen
  • insulin pump
  • long-acting insulin
  • insulin-dependent
  • diabetesA long-term disease in which the body cannot control blood sugar properly, because it makes too little insulin or cannot use it well.
  • blood glucoseThe amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood at a given moment; it is checked to diagnose and monitor diabetes.
  • injectionA way of giving a medicine or vaccine through a needle into the body, for example into a muscle, under the skin or into a vein.
  • medicationA substance used to treat, prevent or relieve the symptoms of a disease; also the whole set of drugs a patient takes.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Prescriptions and Medication

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.