Five once-important "healthcare" jobs have (fortunately) become obsolete, according to an article in .
Leech collectors once were needed to wade into ponds and wait for these common medical "devices" to attach onto the legs, pluck them off, and sell them to the local doctor. If leeches didn't work, toads -- or toad parts or ashes -- could be applied, and it turns out toad skin has analgesic and anti-microbial properties.
Medieval plague doctors wore long, wax-coated robes and leather pants, along with a bird mask filled with herbs for protection, and barber-surgeons could give you a haircut and shave and cut off a gangrenous limb. Finally, 19th century medicine men would offer then-legal cocaine- and heroin-laden elixirs and potions to cure everything from arthritis to seizures.