Diabetes in a Totally Depancreatized Man. *

Abstract

Conclusions

(1) The pancreas, or its hormone, insulin, is necessary to life in the human. (2) On the basis of the present case and others previously reported,^2-5 the insulin output of the normal human pancreas must be considerably smaller than has been believed and seems to lie in the range of 30 to 50 units per day. Therefore, (3) in diabetic patients requiring more than this amount, an extrainsular factor must be contributing to the diabetic syndrome. (4) The D/N, ratio of from 2.42 to 3.59 indicates that a fasting, depancreatized man deprived of insulin converts protein to carbohydrate at a rate commensurate with that observed in the dog under the same conditions⁶ or when treated with phloridzin.⁷