Medical Dictionary

Glisson's capsule

noun Glis·son's capsule \ ˈglis-ᵊnz- \

medical Definition of Glisson's capsule

: an investment of loose connective tissue entering the liver with the portal vessels and sheathing the larger vessels in their course through the organ — called also capsule of Glisson

Biographical Note for glisson's capsule

Glisson, Francis (1597–1677), British physician and anatomist. One of the founders of the Royal Society, Glisson was a distinguished anatomist, physiologist, and clinician. His treatise of 1650 on rickets was the fullest account up to that time. In 1654 he clearly described for the first time the capsule that now bears his name and the blood supply of the liver. Glisson is also known for introducing the idea of irritability as a specific property of living tissue.