How did the 1683 Bruges law affect physicians and pharmacists?

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A lab technician wearing protective gloves and face shield lifts a rack of deep-frozen cells from a cryopreservation tank emitting vapor in a laboratory setting. — pharmaceutical industry A technician withdrawing deep-frozen cells for in vitro culture at a laboratory of a German pharmaceutical company.

The 1683 law enacted by the city council of Bruges was a significant development in the history of pharmacy. By explicitly forbidding physicians from preparing medications for their patients, the law reinforced the trend toward professional specialization, effectively mandating a separation of duties between physicians and pharmacists.1