ABSTRACT
Man's concern about health and the wish of those afflicted for cure, relief, or comfort is evident throughout recorded history. In medieval times a theoretical knowledge of medicine was largely restricted to the clergy and clerks in monasteries and ancient universities; the more practical application of cures or remedies was conducted by individuals sometimes called leechers, who had trained by apprenticeship. Apart from some polar weighting, with a historical concentration in Scotland and London, medical schools in Great Britain are reasonably equally distributed throughout the country. Concern about the standard of medical education and the involvement in medical practice of unqualified individuals led to legislation in the form of the Medical Act, 1858, which set up the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom; since 1951 this body has been officially known as the General Medical Council.
