title: [Medical practice in the Castilian rural setting. The memorial (account) by Vicente Crespo (1785)].
abstract: The aim of this note is to analyse the life and work of rural physicians in late 18th century Spain, using a rich and unpublished manuscript written in 1785 by Vicente Crespo, a rural physician who practised in Brihuega, a town in the province of Guadalajara (Kingdom of Castile). The working conditions of this professional group were largely dependent on the control of the Real Tribunal del Protomedicato and their relations with other groups of health providers (surgeons, barbers, apothecaries and quacks). The study approaches these relations in the context of Spain as a rural society, still based on a manorial structure and with considerable power concentrated at the local level. During this period, each district attempted to hire physicians to cover their healthcare needs, by using the terms partido or medicatura to refer to the practices created.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Historia la Ciencia, Facultad de Medicina. mastrain@ugr.es
authors.forename: Mikel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Astrain
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D008374:Manuscripts, Medical as Topic / Q000266:history*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000266:history*; D013030:Spain