Kenney C A
J Biocommun. 1998;25(2):26-31.
When Thomas Willis published Cerebri Anatome in 1664, he demonstrated within its pages the greatest insight to date into the structure and function of the circular arterial anastomosis that later came to bear his name. For centuries prior, others had described and illustrated the vascular arrangement on the base of the brain with increasing yet incomplete accuracy, and it was not until Willis' treatment of the subject, accompanied by the fine drawings of Christopher Wren, that a complete account of the "circle of Willis" was provided.
1664年，托马斯·威利斯发表了《脑的解剖学》，在书中他展示了当时对后来以他的名字命名的环状动脉吻合结构和功能的最深刻见解。在此之前的几个世纪里，其他人对脑底部的血管排列进行了描述和绘图，准确性虽不断提高但仍不完整，直到威利斯对该主题进行论述，并配有克里斯托弗·雷恩绘制的精美插图，才对“威利斯环”进行了完整的描述。
