A white coat, also known as a laboratory coat or lab coat, is a knee-length overcoat or smock worn by professionals in the medical field or by those involved in laboratory work. The coat protects their street clothes and also serves as a simple uniform. The garment is made from white or light-colored cotton, linen, or cotton polyester blend, allowing it to be washed at high temperature and making it easy to see if it is clean. Similar coats are a symbol of learning in Argentina and Uruguay, where they are worn by both students and teachers in state schools. In Tunisia and Mozambique, teachers wear white coats to protect their street clothes from chalk. Like the word "suit", the phrase "white coat" is sometimes used as a metonym to denote the wearer, such as a scientist working in a high-tech company. Medicine White coats are sometimes seen as the distinctive dress of both physicians and surgeons, who have worn them for over 100 years. In the nineteenth century, respect for the certainty of science was in stark contrast to the quackery and mysticism of nineteenth-century medicine. To emphasize the transition to the more scientific approach of modern medicine, physicians began to represent themselves as scientists, donning the most recognizable symbol of the scientist, the white laboratory coat. Recently, white coat ceremonies have become popular amongst those starting medical school. The modern white coat was introduced to medicine in the late 1800s as a symbol of cleanliness. Patient perceptions A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that the majority of patients prefer their doctors to wear white coats, but the majority of doctors prefer other clothing, such as scrubs. The study found that psychiatrists were among the least likely to wear white coats and when they are worn, they are typically worn over the scrubs. Some medical doctors view the coats as hot and uncomfortable, and many feel that they spread infection. White coat hypertension Some patients who have their blood pressure measured in a clinical setting have higher readings than they do when measured in a home setting. This is apparently a result of patients feeling more relaxed when they are at home. The phenomenon is sometimes called white coat hypertension, in reference to the traditional white coats worn in a clinical setting, though the coats themselves may have nothing to do with the elevated readings. Psychiatry The