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Robert Willan (12 November 1757, near

Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, nor ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

– 7 April 1812, in Madeira) was an English physician and the founder of

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

as a medical specialty.

Life

Willan was educated at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

, and received his M.D. at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in 1780 From 1781 he practised medicine in Darlington and then moved to London in 1783 as physician to the new Carey Street Public Dispensary, where he remained until 1803 teaching alongside

Thomas Bateman Thomas Bateman (8 November 1821 (baptised) – 28 August 1861) was an English antiquary and barrow-digger. Biography Thomas Bateman was born in Rowsley, Derbyshire, England, the son of the amateur archaeologist William Bateman. After the deat ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1809.

Works

Following the example of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

, Willan attempted a taxonomic classification of skin diseases, describing

impetigo Impetigo is a bacterial infection that involves the superficial skin. The most common presentation is yellowish crusts on the face, arms, or legs. Less commonly there may be large blisters which affect the groin or armpits. The lesions may be pa ...

, lupus,

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

scleroderma Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs, as well. Symptoms may include areas ...

ichthyosis Ichthyosis is a family of genetic skin disorders characterized by dry, thickened, scaly skin. The more than 20 types of ichthyosis range in severity of symptoms, outward appearance, underlying genetic cause and mode of inheritance (e.g., dominant ...

sycosis Sycosis is an inflammation of hair follicles, especially of the beard area,thefreedictionary.com > sycosisciting: Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. 2007thefreedictionary.com > sycosisciting: The American Heritage® Medical Diction ...

, and

pemphigus Pemphigus ( or ) is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. The name is derived from the Greek root ''pemphix'', meaning "pustule". In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein, whi ...

. Willan's portrait was reproduced on the cover of the

British Journal of Dermatology The ''British Journal of Dermatology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers the field of dermatology. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Association of Dermatologists. The journal was established in 18 ...

for many years. Willan and Bateman working together provided the world's first attempt to classify skin diseases from an anatomical standpoint. In 1790, Willan received the Fothergill Gold Medal from the

Medical Society of London The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthro ...

for his classification of skin diseases. In the same year he published an account entitled "A Remarkable Case of Abstinence", which detailed the case of a young Englishman who died in 1786 after fasting for 78 days - one of the earliest accounts of eating disorders in males. A copy of one of his works was translated into German and published in Breslau in 1799. The English version has been lost. In 1798, Willan described the occupational disease psoriasis diffusa, which affects the hands and arms of bakers, and in 1799 first described the exanthematous rash of childhood known as

erythema infectiosum Erythema infectiosum, fifth disease, or slapped cheek syndrome is one of several possible manifestations of infection by parvovirus B19. Fifth disease typically presents as a rash and is more common in children. While parvovirus B19 can affect h ...

. Willan's 1808 book, ''On Cutaneous Diseases'' is a landmark in the history of dermatology and in medical illustration and contains the first use of the word "lupus" to describe cutaneous

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. His study of the sulphur water at

Croft-on-Tees Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies north-north west of the cou ...

, published in 1782 London, has recently been republished.Robert Willan, M D, Observations on the Sulphur-Water, at Croft, Near Darlingto

/ref>

Notes

References

* Evans, A. S. and Kaslow, R. A. (1997). ''Viral Infections of Humans''. Springer. * Lee, H. S. J. (Ed.). (2002). ''Dates in Infectious Diseases: A Chronological Record of Progress in Infectious Diseases Over the Last Millennium''. Taylor & Francis. * Levere, T., Turner L'E, G. (2002). ''Discussing Chemistry and Steam: The Minutes of a Coffee House Philosophical Society 1780-1787''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Porter, R. and Bynum, W. F. (Eds.).(2002). ''William Hunter and the Eighteenth-Century Medical World''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Sebastian, A. (2000). ''Dates in Medicine''. Taylor and Francis. * Silverman, J. A. (1990). Anorexia Nervosa in the Male: Early Historic Cases. In Andersen, A. E. (Ed.). ''Males with Eating Disorders'' (pp. 3–8).

External links

Biography

Robert Willan's Description and Treatment of Cutaneous Diseases 1797/1798 A Bicentennial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willan, Robert 1757 births 1812 deaths People from Sedbergh English dermatologists Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century English people 19th-century English people 18th-century English medical doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Life

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links