Opened in September 1824, the Infirmary provided accommodation for 230 patients. In 1828, it dealt with 2,105 in-patients and 465 out-patients. Before the foundation of the Medical School in 1834, medical education could only be obtained in Liverpool by serving an apprenticeship at the Infirmary, or being apprenticed to a physician or surgeon in private practice. Of the eight schools of anatomy in the provinces, Liverpool had two. The average number of students in both the Liverpool schools was about 40, including those who were only studying art. Lectures were given on anatomy, botany, chemistry, materia medica, medical jurisprudence, medicine, midwifery, and surgery.