key people

• barber surgeons were the least qualified medical professionals in England. they regularly performed small surgeries such as pulling teeth, bleeding patients and sewing wounds. ocasionally they did larger surgeries such as amputations, however they had no effective anaesthetic. barber surgeons did not go to university but improved their skills by training as apprentices.
• apothecaries mainly mixed herbal remedies and had good knowledge of the healing power of plants and herbs. they were not thought to be skilled or knowledgeable as physicians and were also cheaper than physicians. they also provided supernatural remedies such as charms and amulets.
• physicians were medieval doctors who diagnosed illness and recommended treatment. they rarely got involved in treating the patients themselves. physicians were expensive so only the rich could afford them. they also tended to follow a three-stage procedure. stage 1 was looking at a sample of urine, faeces and blood. stage 2 was consulting astrological charts under which the patient was born and fell sick. stage 3 was using the other stages and the patients humoural tendencies to create a course of treatment.