A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of the bubonic plague during epidemics. These doctors were hired by cities to treat infected patients, especially the bankrupt poor, regardless of their income.

Plague doctors had a mixed reputation, and some citizens saw their presence as a warning to leave the area. Some plague doctors charged patients and their families additional fees for special treatment or mistreatment. In most cases, these doctors were not experienced doctors. or surgeons; Instead, volunteers, second-rate doctors or interns start. In one case, a plague doctor was a fruit seller before being employed as a doctor. Plague doctors rarely cured the sick; Instead, it is used to count the number of deaths and the number of people infected for demographic purposes. In France and the Netherlands, plague doctors often lacked medical training and were referred to as "empirical". Plague doctors were called "municipal or community plague doctors", while "family doctors" were separate doctors and both could reside in the same European town or municipality at the same time.