A plague doctor, or a plague doctor (Italian: physici epidemeie) is the definition of a doctor established in medieval and Renaissance Europe, whose main responsibility was the treatment of patients with bubonic plague, or "black death", especially during epidemics. Starting from the 17th century, a distinctive feature of the plague doctors was a special protective suit with an original “nosy” mask resembling a bird's beak. Due to their specific appearance, as well as the mystical halo attached to them, the plague doctors had a significant impact on European culture, expressed, in particular, in the appearance of the corresponding character in the Italian Comedy del Arte and the famous Venetian mask resembling a doctor’s mask.<br> <br> Some plague healers wore a characteristic protective suit. In its final form, the costume of the plague doctor appeared only in 1619, when the French physician Charles de Lorm (English) was Russian. (fr. Charles de Lorme) offered a complete set of protective clothing for doctors dealing with patients with plague. Until this time, a single protective suit did not exist, and the plague doctors wore a variety of clothes, as evidenced by graphic sources.<br> <br> The costume proposed by de Lorm was made with an eye on the light armor leather armor. In addition to the characteristic “beaky” mask, it included a long coat from neck to ankles, a raincoat, tight trousers, gloves, boots and a hat. All elements of the costume were made of waxed leather or, at worst, from a rough canvas soaked in wax.<br> <br> It was believed that a mask with a beak, giving the doctor the appearance of an ancient Egyptian deity, frightens off the disease. But the beak also had a functional load: it protected the doctor from the "pathogenic smell", that is, it was a prototype of modern respirators. The beak or its tip was filled with strongly smelling medicinal herbs, which facilitated breathing with a constant plague stench. And since the plague doctor constantly chewed garlic for prevention, the beak protected others from the garlic smell. In addition, the doctor placed incense on a special sponge in the nostrils and ears. So that he himself would not suffocate from all this bouquet of smells, there were two small ventilation holes in the beak. Like gas masks of the twentieth century, the mask had glass inserts that protect the eyes. A long raincoat soaked with wax and leather or oiled cloth made of thick fabric were needed to avoid physical contact with the bodies of infected people and corpses.