Hospitali ni majengo yaliyokusudiwa kutibu wagonjwa; kwa ajili hiyo kuwa wataalamu wa afya pamoja na vifaa mbalimbali. Hospitali nyingine zinalenga aina moja au chache tu za maradhi. Nyingine pamoja na matibabu kwa wagonjwa zinaandaa madaktari na manesi wa kesho. Baadhi ni za serikali, nyingine ni za binafsi, zikiwemo zile za dini na madhehebu mbalimbali. Ni kwamba kihistoria, nyingi za zamani zilianzishwa na mashirika ya watawa. Kuna mashirika ambayo yaliundwa kwa lengo hilo pekee la kuhudumia wagonjwa kiroho na kimwili, kama yale yaliyoanzishwa na Yohane wa Mungu na Kamili wa Lellis. Jina linatokana na neno la Kilatini hospes, likiwa na maana ya mgeni, halafu neno hospitium lenye maana ya mapokezi. Ni kwa sababu nyumba za huduma zilikuwa zikipokea wageni wa kila aina, wakiwemo wagonjwa. Hall, Daniel (December 2008). "Altar and Table: A phenomenology of the surgeon-priest". Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 81 (4). "Although physicians were available in varying capacities in ancient Rome and Athens, the institution of a hospital dedicated to the care of the sick was a distinctly Christian innovation rooted in the monastic virtue and practise of hospitality.