Pump Terms

Glossary letters

  1. 4 terms starting with A
  2. 6 terms starting with B
  3. 9 terms starting with C
  4. 6 terms starting with D
  5. 1 terms starting with E
  6. 2 terms starting with F
  7. 2 terms starting with G
  8. 4 terms starting with H
  9. 6 terms starting with I
  10. No terms starting with J
  11. No terms starting with K
  12. 2 terms starting with L
  13. 3 terms starting with M
  14. 2 terms starting with N
  15. 1 terms starting with O
  16. 6 terms starting with P
  17. No terms starting with Q
  18. 1 terms starting with R
  19. 6 terms starting with S
  20. 7 terms starting with T
  21. 1 terms starting with U
  22. No terms starting with V
  23. No terms starting with W
  24. No terms starting with X
  25. No terms starting with Y
  26. No terms starting with Z

Reference

  1. 01A to Z glossary

Explainers

  1. 02How an insulin pump works
  2. 03Pump or injections?
  3. 04Infusion sets and site rotation
  4. 05Carbohydrate counting
  5. 06Alarms and fail-safes
  6. 07Sick days
  7. 08Exercise
  8. 09School and nursery
  9. 10Travelling with a pump

Related reading

  1. 11Diabetes and the nervous system
  2. 12Official UK guidance

About

  1. 13About
  2. 14How we check facts
  3. 15Contact
  4. 16Privacy

About Pump Terms

An independent reference for people in the UK who are meeting insulin pump jargon for the first time, and for the students and teachers who explain it.

Updated 11 October 2026By the Pump Terms editors

Insulin pump therapy comes with a vocabulary of its own: basal rates, boluses, cannulas, occlusions, ketones, time in range. Clinic leaflets use the words as if everyone already knew them. This reference does the opposite. It defines each term in a sentence or two, points to the public body that says so, and then gives a handful of longer explainers on the topics people ask about most.

What this site is

Pump Terms has two parts. The A to Z glossary holds the definitions, each with a numbered source. The explainers cover how a pump works, what NICE says about pumps and injections, infusion sets, carbohydrate counting, alarms, sick days, exercise, school and nursery and travel. The wording and the sources are British, because the readers it has in mind use the NHS.

Independent, and not a service

Pump Terms is an independent educational publication. It is not a business, a charity, a clinic or a patient group, and it is not affiliated with any practice, company, society, health service or agency. It does not sell, recommend or arrange anything, it runs no helpline, and it cannot give personal advice. If a page ever seems to promote a particular product or provider, that is a mistake and the editors want to hear about it.

Who writes it

The pages are written and maintained by the Pump Terms editors, a small independent team. The editors do not claim professional credentials, clinical experience or personal stories for any page, and no page has been medically reviewed. Where a page states a fact, a number or a recommendation, it comes from a public source named at the foot of that page, so that you can check it yourself. The method is written down.

What it is not

It is general information, not medical advice. Pump settings, targets, doses and sick day plans are personal and are set by a diabetes team. If a page here seems to disagree with the advice your own team has given you, follow your team and tell the editors so that the page can be checked. In an emergency, call 999.

In short

An independent, sourced UK reference that explains the words around insulin pump therapy and leaves every decision to you and your diabetes team.