Glisson , Francis

Glisson , Francis
(1597–1677) English physician
Born at Rampisham in southwest England, Glisson was educated at Cambridge University where he obtained his MD in 1634. He was appointed professor of physics at Cambridge in 1636 and retained the post until his death. However most of his time was spent in private practice in London, so an assistant was employed to fulfill his Cambridge teaching obligations.
Glisson was a member of the group that, beginning in 1645, met regularly in London and out of which the Royal Society was later to emerge. From this ‘Invisible College’ as it was later known, came one of the earliest examples of cooperative research. A committee of nine was set up in 1645 to investigate rickets but, as Glisson's contribution far exceeded that of any other contributor, it was agreed that he should publish the report De rachitide(1650; On Rickets) under his own name. Although the nature of rickets could only begin to be comprehended with the discovery of vitamins by Casimir Funk in 1912, Glisson must be credited for his clear description of the disease.
He was more original and influential in his account of irritability, first formulated in his work on the liver, Anatomia hepatis (1654; Anatomy of the Liver). He argued that muscular irritability, that is their tendency to respond to stimuli, was independent of any external input, nervous or otherwise. This was a considerable improvement over the orthodox position adopted by the followers of René Descartes who believed that muscle could only respond by being pumped up like a tire, with a subtle nervous spirit rather than air. Glisson later reported a simple experiment where he placed his arm in a tube filled with water and noted that when his muscles contracted the level of water actually fell. This showed quite clearly, he claimed, that there had been no flow of anything into the limb.
It was this idea of irritability which, picked up by Albrecht von Haller in the following century, was to find a permanent place in physiology.

Scientists. . 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Glisson, Francis — ► (1597 1677) Anatomista y fisiólogo inglés. Fue el precursor de Haller en el descubrimiento de la irritabilidad celular …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Glisson — Glisson, Francis …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Francis Glisson — (* 1596? in Rampisham, Dorset; † 14. Oktober 1677 in London) war ein englischer Anatom und Physiologe. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Glisson — Francis Glisson Francis Glisson (* 1596 in Rampisham, Dorset; † 14. Oktober 1677 in London) war ein englischer Anatom und Physiologe. Leben und Wirken Francis Glisson studierte in Cambridge Medizin und erhielt daselbst eine Professur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Glisson — Glisson, Francis, Anatom und Physiolog, geb. 1596 zu Rampisham in Dorsetshire, studierte zu Cambridge und erhielt daselbst eine Professur, kam 1634 als Mitglied des Kollegiums der Ärzte nach London, wurde von demselben zum Professor der Anatomie… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Glisson's capsule — Glis·son s capsule glis ənz n an investment of loose connective tissue entering the liver with the portal vessels and sheathing the larger vessels in their course through the organ called also capsule of Glisson Glisson Francis (1597 1677)… …   Medical dictionary

  • Francis Glisson — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Nacimiento 14 de octubre de 1597 Rampisham, Dorset Fallecimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Francis Glisson — (1597–October 14, 1677) was a British physician, anatomist, and writer on medical subjects. He did important work on the anatomy of the liver, and he wrote an early pediatric text on rickets. An experiment he performed helped debunk the… …   Wikipedia

  • Glisson —   [ glɪsn], Francis, englischer Arzt, * Rampisham (bei Yeovil) 1597, ✝ London 14. 10. 1677; Professor in Cambridge und London; beschrieb u. a. die Rachitis. Die in seinem Werk »Anatomie der Leber« beschriebene Kapsel (Leber) führt seinen Namen.… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Glisson-Kapsel — [glịßen...; nach dem engl. Anatomen Francis Glisson, 1597 1677]: = Capsula fibrosa perivascularis …   Das Wörterbuch medizinischer Fachausdrücke

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