William Saunders (1744-1817) was Physician at Guy's Hospital from 1770-1802. He gained a reputation as a popular and entertaining lecturer and met with rapid success, achieving the position of Physician to the Prince Regent in 1807. His success met with a degree of suspicion from many of his colleagues; Sir Astley Cooper wrote he was a 'most entertaining lecturer, but superficial person, with a considerable share of genius', implying that his knowlege was not all it could be. With the intervention of his friend, Sir George Baker, he was made a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1790, despite not having a degree from Oxford or Cambridge.
This particular work deals with general pathology, chemistry, materia medica, physiology and medicine, and contains extensive notes written by one of his students on blank pages included for that purpose.