Editing History of medicine (section)

=== Places ===

==== England ====
In England, there were but three small hospitals after 1550. Pelling and Webster estimate that in London in the 1580 to 1600 period, out of a population of nearly 200,000 people, there were about 500 medical practitioners. Nurses and midwives are not included. There were about 50 physicians, 100 licensed surgeons, 100 apothecaries, and 250 additional unlicensed practitioners. In the last category about 25% were women.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Pelling M, Webster C | chapter = Medical Practitioners | publisher = CUP Archive | date = November 1979 | title = Health, Medicine, and Mortality in the Sixteenth Century | page = 183 }}</ref> All across England—and indeed all of the world—the vast majority of the people in city, town or countryside depended for medical care on local amateurs with no professional training but with a reputation as wise healers who could diagnose problems and advise sick people what to do—and perhaps set broken bones, pull a tooth, give some traditional herbs or brews or perform a little magic to cure what ailed them.