Descriptions of diabetes mellitus are surprisingly ancient. The Ebers papyrus, dating from about 1500 BC, lists several means “to drive away the passing of too much urine.” The term diabetes, which means “to pass through,” as in a siphon, was coined in the 2nd century AD by Aretaeus the Cappadocian, who noted both “a melting down of the flesh and limbs into urine” and an unquenchable thirst “as if scorched by fire.” Galen, a contemporary of Aretaeus, described diabetes as a disorder of the kidneys, which he called “hydrops of the chamber pot.”...