Whytt devoted himself to the study of anatomy, under the first Monro. Going to London in 1734, Whytt became a pupil of William Cheselden, while he visited the wards of the London hospitals. After this he attended the lectures of Jacob B. Winslow in Paris, of Herman Boerhaave and Bernhard Siegfried Albinus at Leyden. He took the degree of M.D. at Reims on 2 April 1736. On 3 June 1737 a similar degree was conferred on him by the university of St Andrews, and on 21 June he became a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. On 27 November 1738 he was elected to the fellowship, and began practice as a physician.