diabetes insipidus
- noun
- /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz ˌɪnˈsɪpɪdəs/
- Specialized
:
diabetes insípido
- Diabetes insipidus was diagnosed by clinical criteria, and all patients needed desmopressin (desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin) to maintain water balance.
- patients with diabetes insipidus
Examples
-
In patients with diabetes insipidus, the last dose of desmopressin was taken the day before the test.
Academic text (1991) -
The absence of VP leads to a deficiency in water regulation and the condition of diabetes insipidus (DI).
Academic text (1990) -
The doctor explained that diabetes insipidus leads to excessive urination and extreme thirst.
-
In cases of diabetes insipidus, patients might feel dehydrated due to the loss of large amounts of urine.
-
Treatment for diabetes insipidus often involves medication to help regulate urine production.
Surface Forms
Morphology
diabetes + insipidus
This is a technical medical Latin binomial: a B1 learner who knows 'diabetes' (commonly linked to high blood sugar) and not the Latin element 'insipidus' (not a productive English morpheme) cannot derive the specific meaning. The term is medical and convention-based rather than compositionally built from familiar English words, so its sense (ADH-related polyuria/thirst) is unpredictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Diabetes insipidus got its name from old doctors who would taste a patient's urine to tell what kind it was. They used the Latin word insipidus ('tasteless') because the urine was very watery and not 'sweet', so the name points to the condition with very watery urine and strong thirst.
