Thomas Willis

Thomas Willis (1621 to 1675) was an English physician who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. A Royalist in the Civil War, he practised in Oxford, held the Sedleian chair of natural philosophy there from 1660 and later practised in Westminster. His Cerebri anatome of 1664, prepared with Christopher Wren and Richard Lower, coined the term neurology and described the brain and nerves in unusual detail, including the ring of arteries at the base of the brain that bears his name. He also wrote on fevers, fermentation, diabetes and the pathology of the brain, and Thomas Sydenham became his leading rival.