The Diabetic Pancreas

I consider it an honor to have been asked to write the Foreword for The Diabetic Pancreas. Although I have been involved in the study of the pancreas since 1921, my interest goes back even further to the time, in 1918, that my father's sister, a nurse who had trained at the Massachusetts General Hospit.al, devel- oped diabetes, lost weight, and died in diabetic coma. This sad event made a deep impression on me and was certainly pardy responsible for my choosing to join the Department of Physiology of the University of Toronto to begin a career in research into diabetes. This is not the place to describe in detail the wide-ranging research and study of the diabetic pancreas in which I have engaged in the past 56 years. Suffice it to say that I am familiar enough with the subject area to be able to predict a great future for this book. The editors have undertaken a very ambitious and worthwhile project, and their efforts have been supported and strengthened by contributors who are respected authorities in their fields, thus ensuring a successful presentation of this major work.