The widely celebrated texts written by Thomas Willis are in many ways a blueprint for modern neuroanatomy. The "Cerebri Anatome", first published in 1664, is the first comprehensive and satisfactory account of the gross anatomy of the human nervous system. "De Anima Brutorum", published in 1672 and regarded as the crown of Willis's achievements, broadened the field to comparative human-animal neurology.
The vast majority of Willis's works are written in Latin, but they were first translated into English by English poet Samuel Pordage from 1681-1684, who did not have a medical background or specialist anatomical knowledge, but arguably brought Willis's works to a wider audience. Interestingly, however, today we would be much more familiar with the original Latin terminology, many of which were introduced by Willis for the very first time. According to Professor Trevor Hughes, who wrote a comprehensive account on "Thomas Willis 1621 - 1675: His Life and Work", Willis introduced now widely used terms such as Claustrum, Spinal accessory nerve, Corprus striatum and Vagus nerve, among many others. These would be much more apparent for us today in the original Latin texts, rather than the English translations.
In a new interview to continue the celebrations marking the anniversary of the birth of Willis, Professor Zoltán Molnár talks to Professor of Neuroscience Miloš Judaš, who is currently embarking on a major project translating the works of Willis for a modern audience. In this video interview, Professor Molnár asks Professor Judaš, also Director of the Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine and Vice Rector of the University of Zagreb, for his analysis of the original Latin texts and their first English translations, with special focus on "The Anatomy of the Brain" (Cerebri Anatome) and "The Soul of Brutes" (De Anima Brutorum).
Miloš Judaš in conversation with Zoltán Molnár: What we learn from translating the works of Willis from DPAG Digital Media on Vimeo.
Further information on Thomas Willis
Thomas Willis: 400th anniversary lecture by Zoltán Molnár at the NeurotechEU opening
Thomas Willis (1621-1675) 400th Anniversary Lecture, Anatomical Society Meeting 2021 - Zoltán Molnár
Zoltán Molnár, "On the 400th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Willis", Brain