Doctor of Medicine (MD)

The Doctor of Medicine, abbreviated MD, is the primary medical degree in most of the world, though its meaning differs by country. In the United States, Canada and many other nations it is the professional degree that qualifies a graduate to practise as a physician, while in the United Kingdom, Ireland and much of the Commonwealth it is instead a higher research doctorate pursued by those who already hold a basic medical qualification. Its roots trace to the medieval medical school at Salerno in Italy, whose graduates received formal legal sanction to practise medicine under Roger II of Sicily in 1137. Earning the professional MD typically takes four to seven years of study, commonly around six. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/