Glossary of Diabetes - B

B

Background retinopathy

Also known as non-proliferative retinopathy

Basal rate

A continuous supply of something. In the case of diabetes, the low levels of insulin usually maintained in the absence of perturbing events (e.g., food, infection, stress, ...).

Beta cell

One of the cell types found in the Islets of Langehans in the pancreas. They are the source of insulin, and contain mechanisms which watch blood glucose levels and which secrete (or not) insulin in response.

Beta cell transplantation

See: Islet cell transplantation.

Biosynthetic human insulin

A man-made insulin that is chemically identical to like human insulin. See also: Human insulin.

Biphasic insulin

A type of pharmaceutical insulin that is a mixture of intermediate- and fast-acting insulin.

Blood glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and the primary fuel for body cells. It is absorbed from some foods (or produced from starchy ones), absorbed into the cells (for about 2/3 of cells, this is under control of insulin), stored temporarily in the liver as glycogen, made in starvation from the glycerin backbone of triglycerides, and from a few amino acids. Glucose metabolism anomalies are the cause of diabetes mellitus.

Blood glucose meter

A machine which electrochemically or coloristically, determines the current level of glucose in a blood sample. They have been getting progressively smaller and less expensive since they were first introduced. The expense of testing is primarily in the one time use strips used which are unique to each testing machine. Some machines can also measure the amount of ketones in the blood, using different testing strips, or glycosolated hemoglobin (i.e., Hb1c).

Blood glucose monitoring

Tracking one's blood glucose level, usually by using a blood glucose meter. This was formerly characterized by periodic testing in a clinic or hospital. If done properly, the modern monitoring is far more useful, given the rapid changes of glucose levels as a result of meals, exercise, medication, etc.

Blood pressure

The hydraulic pressure in arteries caused heart contractions (i.e., of the left ventircle). It has two values. The higher is taken immediately at the end of the left ventricle's contraction. The lower is the 'background pressure' in the arteries when the left ventricle is not contracting. .

Blood-sampling device

Blood sugar

A (misnomer) name for blood glucose.

Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)

A measurement of a metabolic waste product in the blood. Urea is a characteristic end product of protein disassembly and processing; this continues normally as a function of tissue repair and replacement. Increased levels of BUN in the blood may indicate early kidney damage as the kidney fails to excrete it in the urine.

Blood vessels

Tubes which carry blood around the body. They come in three types, arteries, veins, and capillaries. Capillaries are always tiny, the others vary from large (centimeters in diameter) to quite small (slightly smaller than the diameter of a red blood cell).

Bolus

An amount of something given in one 'lump.' A meal is a food bolus, continuous snacking for an afternoon is not. In diabetes, bolus is an extra amount of insulin given in a single dose to cover an expected rise in blood glucose (sugar), such as the rise that occurs after eating.

Borderline Diabetes

A term no longer used. See: Impaired glucose tolerance.

Brittle diabetes

A person with a blood glucose (sugar) level often swings quickly from high to low and from low to high. Also called labile and unstable diabetes.

Bronze diabetes

See: Hemochromatosis.

Bunion

A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.