Taking diabetes mellitus pathological changes as the basis

taking symptoms and signs as the clue

based on the discussion of spleen fever（脾瘅） and consumptive fever（消瘅） in Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor（黄帝内经）

combined with clinical practice

the authors expound the types

development and outcomes of diabetes mellitus and construct the clinical practice of preventing and treating diabetes mellitus based on the guidance of diabetes mellitus theory system by types（spleen fever and consumptive fever according to fat or thin body）

by stages（stagnationheat-deficiency-damage stages according to natural evolutional process） and by syndromes. Before diabetes mellitus syndrome differentiation

firstly classification should be conducted. Clear classification makes stages and syndromes methodically determined. Secondly

the stages should be determined

which should take pathological changes as the basis

symptoms and signs as the clue. It is emphasized that finding the core pathogenesis at different stages. Thirdly

the syndromes should be determined

which means to know the location and character（cold

heat

deficiency and excess） of the disease and solve the outstanding contradiction in a targeted way. The theory of by types

by stages and by syndromes could comprehensively consider the disease similarity and patient personality

which may provide enlightenment for Chinese medicine theory construction in modern chronic diseases.