Joseph von Mering

Josef, Baron von Mering (born February 28, 1849, in Cologne - died January 5, 1908, at Halle an der Saale, Germany) was a German physician.

Mering was the first person to discover (in conjunction with Oskar Minkowski) that one of the pancreatic functions is the production of insulin, a hormone which controls blood sugar levels.

Mering was curious about the pancreas, a comma shaped organ, that was situated between the stomach and the small intestine. In an effort to discover its function, he removed the organ from a dog. The dog was then noticed frequently urinating on the floor, although it was house trained. Mering realised that this was a symptom of diabetes and tested the urine which was found to be high in sugar, confirming his suspicion.