Francis Balkwill and the physiology of mastication

The contribution of Francis Balkwill to the understanding of the masticatory system is virtually unknown in this country. In 1866 he presented the results of considerable research on this subject to the Odontological Society of Great Britain, but his observations were ignored and the paper remained 'buried' in the Transactions for nearly 50 years. In 1912 a copy of the paper was to sent to Professor Gysi in Zurich who immediately published a most generous tribute to the value of his work. The observations made in this 1866 paper are reviewed here together with the 'rediscoveries' made by later workers. It is suggested that Balkwill's neglected work was in fact the most far-seeing and comprehensive piece of research on this subject carried out during the 19th Century.