Historically, doctors would taste patients' urine to test for [[Diabetes|diabetes mellitus]]. The sweet taste of the urine in diabetics was due to the presence of glucose in urine, as seen in [[Hyperglycemia|hyperglycaemia]].
[{{Cite journal |last=Eknoyan |first=Garabed |last2=Nagy |first2=Judit |date=April 2005 |title=A history of diabetes mellitus or how a disease of the kidneys evolved into a kidney disease |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1548559505000261 |journal=Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=223–229 |doi=10.1053/j.ackd.2005.01.002 |issn=1548-5595}}]