ABSTRACT
Philip Syng Physick, son of Edmund and Abigail Syng Physick, was a native of Philadelphia from a distinguished family.3 His father was receiver-general of Penn sylvania as well as an agent for the Penn estates.4 Physick’s maternal grandfather, Philip Syng, was a renowned silversmith who designed the inkstand used for the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.5 In 1800, Physick married Elizabeth Emler, and together they had seven children.4 Ironically, this great man of surgical sciences had several health afflictions, including yellow fever, typhoid fever (or typhus), renal colic, and heart failure.3
