1597-1677

English Physician

Francis Glisson was an English physician who is known for, among other things, his medical work with infantile rickets, the liver and the mechanics of muscle contraction.

While the details of Glisson's childhood and upbringing are cloaked in obscurity, what is known is that he was born in 1597 in Rampisham, located in southwest England; he graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Cambridge in 1621 and obtained a Master of Arts in 1624. He was lecturer of Greek from 1625-1626 and he became a physician in 1634; that same year he was a candidate of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He was named regius professor of physics at Cambridge University in 1636 and he held this position until his death. In 1639 he was named anatomy reader at Cambridge University.

Glisson became involved with a group of physicians and scientists who began to...