Imported or locally sourced : Philadelphia's 1793 yellow fever epidemic and the medical men who fought to understand it / by Elizabeth M. Root.

In 1793, Philadelphia experienced a deadly attack brought on by an invisible enemy, yellow fever. The epidemic pushed the medical community to the breaking point trying to understand the disease’s origin. Leading members of the College of Physicians believed that the contagion was passed from person to person spreading throughout the city. On the other side of the argument, a small group of medical men believed that the contagion was produced by the foul smells that were emitted by putrefied vegetable matters. Using medical pamphlets published during and after the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, this work demonstrates that both observation and source materials were key to defending both theories. This production of materials proved that a questioning nature as well as adequate skills existed in the fledgling United States, promoting its own take on medical theory and practice for the benefit of future students in the field of medicine.