Nathaniel Hodges of London (1629-1688) in 1665 seems to have been the first who had the courage to make a post mortem inspection of a plague patient.
According to some authorities, especially Hodges, the plague was imported into London by bales of merchandise from Holland, which came originally from the Levant; according to others it was introduced by Dutch prisoners of war; but Boghurst regarded it as of local origin.
Hodges implies that he did so, though he left no full account of his observations.
Hodges, Loimologia sive pestis nuperae apud populum londinensem narratio (London, 1672) 8vo - in English by Quincy (London, 1720), (the chief authority); Aommoypa41a or an Experimental Relation of the last Plague in the City of London, by William Boghurst, apothecary in St Giles's-in-the-Fields (London, 1666), - a MS. in British Museum (Sloane 349), containing important details; George Thomson, Aoimotomia, or the Pest Anatomized, 8vo (London, 1666); Sydenham, " Febris pestilentialis et pestis annorum 1665-1666," Opera, ed.
An experiment made by Professor Hodges of Belfast on 7770 lb of air-dried flax yielded the following results.
