Gotta love the OCHM for these little gems of wisdom.
Thomas Willis is one of those happy Oxford heroes belonging to Christ Church College who hold a bogus DM degree -awarded in 1646 for his Royalist sympathies. he had a busy life inventing terms such as “neurology” and “reflex”. Not only has his name been given to his famous circle, but he was the first to describe myasthenia gravis, whooping cough, and the sweet taste of diabetic urine. He was the first person (few have followed him) who knew the course of the spinal accessory nerve. He is unusual among Oxford neurologists in that, at various times, he developed the practice of giving his lunch away to the poor. He also developed the practice of iatrochemistry: a theory of medicine according to which all morbid conditions of the body can be explained by disturbances in the fermentations and effervescences of its humours.
Ying, where have you gone? I have much enjoyed reading about your adventures at med school and miss you blogs terribly. Kate