In late 18th century England and Scotland with criminal cadavers in short supply, doctors turned a blind eye to grave robbing which supplied them with the anatomical specimens they wanted.
An Iron Coffin to Thwart Grave Diggers
Physicians and barber surgeons attempted remedies using what appear to us now to be instruments of torture and quackery.
Before the advances introduced by Nightingale and Lister, many hospitals were places people went to die which festered with illness and disease and were considered a terrifying ordeal.
It is not surprising then that our medical forefathers had such dubious reputations and low standing in society.
