Thomas Willis
Oxford physician; author of Pharmaceutice rationalis (1674) contested
- Dates
- No dates given in the film's sources
- Chapters
- V. What the Water Knew
Contested
Whether Willis coined the term 'diabetes mellitus' is disputed between secondary sources; the film does not credit him with it.
Sources
- Wikipedia: History of diabetes (listed in research/02 §11) Secondary
- Fitzharris, as cited in research/02 §7 item 6 (full reference not given in the kit) Secondary
What the film says
-
Tasted diabetic urine in the 1670s and recorded that it was wonderfully sweet.
On the timeline
- 1674: Thomas Willis's Pharmaceutice rationalis (Oxford) includes a chapter on excessive urination and diabetes. timeline
- 1679: The Oxford edition of Pharmaceutice rationalis states that the urine passed in diabetes is wonderfully sweet, and calls diabetes a disease of the blood rather than the kidneys. timeline
- 1685: The London Practice of Physick gives Willis's account in English, including the nobleman whose urine was sweet as though honey were mixed in it. timeline