The Doctor

In Europe, when it was the 19th century, doctors were actually separated into two distinct classes. Carrying a cane, wearing a wig, and sporting a fancy coat, the learned physician was known as the “Doctor of Physick.” This doctor was more talk than practice, although he was educated on many theories about the body. While he was educated, he knew barely a thing about the details of anatomy and even considered dissection improper. Frightfully avoiding the body, the physician stuck to his books, refusing to operate. These tasks went to the lowly barber surgeons, who didn’t know languages or theories, but were experts where it counted. They performed the operations. Even when their hands on training produced better treatments of patients, the physicians refused to listen. “I won’t perform dirty operations,” they replied. Sadly, it would be years until these classes would merge into the doctor we know today.

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