TY - JOUR T1 - Thomas Willis' paediatric general practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 70 LP - 73 VL - 57 IS - 534 AU - AN Williams Y1 - 2007/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/57/534/70.abstract N2 - Thomas Willis (1621–1675) is regarded as the founder of modern clinical neuroscience and one of the great physicians of the 17th century.1 What is not often appreciated is that Willis at the start of his career practiced as a consulting physician on horseback around the towns and villages of Oxfordshire. This paper examines Willis' paediatric practice during his early general practice as described in his case notes and published writings. These cases demonstrate a wide range of paediatric illness.Thomas Willis (pictured below) did not come from a medical family and was born on a Wiltshire farm in Great Bedwyn.He took his MA from Christchurch College, Oxford in 1642. However, his clinical training was curtailed because of the Civil War (he served 2 years in an auxiliary regiment) and after only 3 months of clinical training he was licensed to practice on 8 December 1646.2Willis didn't just become the celebrated physician and neuroanatomist: like all doctors he had to find his path. The brevity of Willis' medical education is regarded as a fortunate event, as it left his mind unencumbered by the traditional medical training of that time, and open to learn the art and science of medicine.3 His early years after qualification were also hard as he slowly built a reputation working as a humble medical practitioner in Oxford (he had to share a horse with Dr Richard Lydall [1621–1704] another practitioner). They obtained their first patients from the town markets and its surrounding towns and villages by ‘casting waters’ (a method of medical management that involves inspecting the patient's urine while taking a history from the patient's relatives).John Aubrey, the 17th century biographer, related that ‘the custom of keeping markets has been common among Persons of his Profession’.4 Willis' practice strikes … ER -