The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbers, who, possessing razors and dexterity indispensable to their trade, were called upon for numerous tasks ranging from cutting hair to pulling teeth to amputating limbs.
In this period, surgical mortality was very high due to blood loss, shock and infection. Yet, since doctors thought that bloodletting to balance 'humours' would improve health, barbers also used bloodletting razors and applied leeches. Meanwhile, physicians considered themselves to be above surgery.[1] Physicians mostly observed during surgery and offered consulting, but otherwise often chose academia or working in universities.
- ^ McGrew, Roderick (1985). Encyclopedia of Medical History. New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 30–31. ISBN 0070450870.