1741–1799 Physician who first popularized the use of digitalis (Digitalis purpurea) for the treatment of ‘dropsy’ (oedema) and contributed to the development of Linnaean botany in Britain.
Keywords: drug discovery; digitalis; botany
Withering, William
WF Bynum, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, London, UK
Published online: April 2001
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003604
| Further Reading | |
| book Aronson JK (1985) An Account of the Foxglove and its Medical Uses, 1785–1985. Oxford: Oxford University Press. | |
| book Gillispie CC (ed.) (1970–1980) Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. | |
| book Peck TW and Wilkinson KD (1950) William Withering of Birmingham. Bristol: J Wright. | |
