Étienne Lancereaux (1829-1910), éclaireur de la maladie diabétique

Etienne Lancereaux was one of the great personality of the 19th medicine century. Influenced by the scientific spirit of Claude Bernard he tried to introduce more rationality in medical reasoning. Despite Claude Bernard had doubts about the pancreatic origin of the diabetes, Lancereaux was the first to suggest that the disease originated in the pancreas. He introduced the term of “pancreatic diabetes” as early as 1877. He was also the first to characterize diabetes as a syndrome rather than a disease. He pointed the heterogeneity of diabetes, and described the “lean” and the “fat” diabetes, two types requiring diametrically opposing forms of treatment. This subdivision was a great step on the way which will lead to the discovery of insulin.