The statutes of the Angers faculty of medicine (1483-1574), including the original Latin text and a French translation

Published in 1483, the statutes of the Angers faculty of medicine set out the way the institution is run, the conditions under which various degrees are awarded and give a definition of the code of ethics of the medical body. The dean of the faculty, with the help of "regent-doctors" and assisted by the vercher, is in charge of finance and security. Answerable for the code of ethics, he ensures that students study properly. Eight years' studies are needed for any whose ambition is to be a doctor of medicine. The teaching, which is purely theoretical, focuses on the study of the Hypocratic triad: fevers, urine and the pulse. The statutes stress especially the importance of the code of ethics, which compels each member of the faculty to fight against illicite practitioners; as a result, the medical doctor appears as the only specialist in medical matters. This monopoly of medical practices, which obliges a doctor from outside the city to submit to an examination of competence, as well as a sense of professional defence, seem to be the two main concerns which governed the drafting of the following text.