Clark, Wilfrid Edward Le Gros (1895-1971)

English anatomist and surgeon whose research made a major contribution to the understanding of the structural anatomy of the brain. By emphasizing the importance of relating structure to function, he had a profound influence on the teaching of anatomy. Clark was born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. He trained at St Thomas's Hospital, London, and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War I. As principal medical officer in Sarawak, Borneo, he began research into the evolution of primitive primates. Clark returned to the UK 1923 tattooed on the shoulders with the insignia of the Sea Dyaks as a mark of their esteem. He became professor of anatomy first at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, then at St Thomas's, and 1934-62 at Oxford, where he created a new Department of Anatomy. Clark's research was directed mainly towards the brain, and the relationship of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex. He also carried out studies of the hypothalamus. His work on the sensory (largely visual) projections of the brain remains the basis of contemporary knowledge of this aspect of neuroanatomy. His publications include Morphological Aspects of the Hypothalamus 1938, The Tissues of the Body 1939, and History of the Primates 1949.