Download or read book The Germ of an Idea written by Margaret DeLacy and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-03-05 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contagionism is an old idea, but gained new life in Restoration Britain. The Germ of an Idea considers British contagionism in its religious, social, political and professional context from the Great Plague of London to the adoption of smallpox inoculation. It shows how ideas about contagion changed medicine and the understanding of acute diseases.