JohnSnowJohnSnow,acreativeLondonphysician,achievedprominenceinthemid-nineteenthcenturyasanobstetricianwhowasamongthefirsttouseanesthesia
Itwashisworkinepidemiology,however,whichearnedhimhispositionasaprototype
Duringthe1830sand1840s,whenseverecholeraepidemicsthreatenedLondon,Dr
Snowhadbecomeinterestedinthecauseandtransmissionofthedisease
In1849,hepublishedabriefpamphlet,OntheModeofCommunicationofCholera,suggestingthatcholeraisacontagiousdiseasecausedbyapoisonthatreproducesinthehumanbodyandisfoundinthevomitusandstoolsofcholerapatients
Hebelievedthatthemain,althoughnotonly,meansoftransmissionwaswatercontaminatedwiththispoison
Thisdifferedfromacommonly-heldtheorythatdiseasesweretransmittedbyinhalationofvapors
Thepamphletcausednogreatstir,andDr
Snow'sargumentwasonlyoneofmanyhopefultheoriesprop