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I am Andreas Vesalius, Professor of anatomy at Padua University in Italy. I am traveling abroad to lecture on my recently published book, De Humani Corporis fabrica. It contains many drawings of muscles, bones, and organs from my many dissections performed at the university. While here I am looking for apprentices to come with me to study medicine at Padua University. Maybe you would be interested and meet the qualifications that I am looking for. First, let me tell you a little about our line of study and work.

Originally physicians, apothecaries, and barber/surgeons all belonged to the same guild. However, during the Renaissance, they split into seperate groups. Apothecaries and barber/surgeons formed their own seperate guilds and the physicians formed the College of Physicians. This resulted in the medical practice becoming more carefully regulated by law throughout Europe. Penalties are now prescribed for persons who practice medicine without a medical degree which usually takes four years to attain. However I hear that in Sicily laws are being passed to make doctors study medicine for five years before applying for official licenses to practice. No physician is allowed to prognose a grave disease except by consultation with a colleague. In Venice they have legislation which requires physicians and surgeons to meet once a month to exchange clinical notes. Legislation also requires physicians to attend a course on anatomy at least once a year in order to keep their knowledge up to date.

Representatives of the physicians and surgeons petitioned the mayor of London in 1422 for recognition of their newly formed guild. In their petition they outlined a set of rules by which they would govern their members, which also included apothecaries. Some of those rules were:

When you graduate from medical school, you will be required to take an oath to never protract the sickness of a patient. You must also swear to supervise the preparation of your prescriptions and never take a part of the price charged by the apothecary for filling them.

But enough of my talk. You should really talk to many people to learn about the physician's role in these times. I know of many who would gladly speak with you. Here, I will give you a list of their names and where you may find them:

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Hospital of the Innocents
Visit Barber/Surgeon Antonio to talk about Surgery

Visit Bartholmew the Physician to talk about Medicine

Visit Sister Maria to talk about Hygiene
Picture of a Herbalist

The lecture hall at the University of Padua
Speak with Enrico Gerbaldi about advancements in medicine professor of anatomy, Andrea Vesalius and the physician Theophratus Bombastus von Hohenheim, but he prefers to be called "Paracelsus" (1493 to 1541).

Black Death - the Globe Theatre
Learn about this devastating disease through correspondence of William Shakespeare's wife.
 

Credits:

Physician picture courtesy of Emil Kren from the website Web Gallery of Art at:http://sunserv.kiki.hu/~artnp/index.html.
 

References:

Durant, Will (1953). The Renaissance: A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304-1576 A.D. Simon & Schuster. New York, New York.

Lyon, Sue (Ed.) (1989). Shakespeare's England. Marshall Cavendish, New York, N.Y.

Newman, Art (1988). The Illustrated Treasury of Medical Curiosa. McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, New York.

Wood, Tim (1993). The Renaissance. Viking Press, New York, N.Y.


Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office, Friends of Fermilab, United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, and North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).
 
Authors: Bonnie Panagakis, Chris Marszalek, Linda Mazanek
School: Twin Groves Junior High School, Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089
Created: November 25, 1997 - Updated: