Study for the PMLS History of Medical Technology Test. Explore flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question is accompanied by hints and explanations. Get prepared for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Discovery of insulin and mechanisms of diabetes in 1921 involved which researchers?

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreatic beta cells that allows glucose to enter body cells, so its discovery showed that diabetes is driven by a deficiency of this hormone rather than just an intractable sugar problem. In 1921 at the University of Toronto, Frederick Banting and his student Charles Best succeeded in extracting insulin and using it to treat diabetes, marking the pivotal breakthrough in understanding and managing the disease. This collaboration is what people most commonly credit for isolating insulin and demonstrating its therapeutic potential. While John Macleod provided supervision and James Collip helped purify the extract for clinical use, the foundational discovery is attributed to Banting and Best. Louis Pasteur, though foundational in microbiology, did not contribute to insulin research.

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreatic beta cells that allows glucose to enter body cells, so its discovery showed that diabetes is driven by a deficiency of this hormone rather than just an intractable sugar problem. In 1921 at the University of Toronto, Frederick Banting and his student Charles Best succeeded in extracting insulin and using it to treat diabetes, marking the pivotal breakthrough in understanding and managing the disease. This collaboration is what people most commonly credit for isolating insulin and demonstrating its therapeutic potential. While John Macleod provided supervision and James Collip helped purify the extract for clinical use, the foundational discovery is attributed to Banting and Best. Louis Pasteur, though foundational in microbiology, did not contribute to insulin research.