 Returning to Basel in 1557, Plater soon established himself as a successful physician and became professor of practical medicine at the university, amassing a famous collection of curiosities at his house as well as an enormous library of pressed plant specimens.Plater's description of Dupuytren's disease in 1614 is explained with regard to his understanding of the anatomy.The current view that Plater believed the disease to be caused by dislocation and shortening of the flexor tendons is based upon misinterpretation of the original Latin text.