I am writing this as a wet shaver and a general surgeon with an interest in history. Surgeons split off from barbers, the original shavers, to follow armies at war, thus learning the management of wounds. As late as the Renaissance, surgeons were referred to as Mister, while the “ doctors” ministered as priests, never touching blood. It was only the drainage of an abscess by a French surgeon on a Royal’s Buttock, that elevated European surgeons to the title of Doctor. To this day, as a rejection of all things French, British surgeons are still referred to as Mister!
