Compare And Contrast The Medical And Medical Techniques Used During The Civil War Dbq

Even though there was not any sanitation the chance of survival for stretched then pervious wars. Doctors had medical kits, which included different tool for cutting such as knives, scalpels, bone saws, chain saw, suture and bandages. Thermometers were rarely used. Doctors did have some painkillers, but they were not always given to all soldiers. The most effective were morphine and opium. What happened after the surgery? Soldiers were transported to a hospital by ambulance. Soldiers were normally in horrible pain making the trip almost unbearable to deal with. The greatest risks for soldiers were now infection.

Like many other Civil War technologies, these weapons were available to Northern troops but not Southern ones: Southern factories had neither the equipment nor the know-how to produce them. “I think the Johnnys [Confederate soldiers] are getting rattled; they

The lack of space required many places to be converted into temporary triage locations. Triage is a quick way to streamline examination and get serious cases handled first. Another issue was moving bedridden patients after their surgeries because of the narrow hatchways and doorways. The amount of patients required another ship to be dispatched to accommodate the patients. The lack of supplies and the variations of injuries caused continuous problems for surgeons, especially those who were becoming extremely fatigued. A common issue was that the extent of injuries could not have been determined completely until the patient was on the operating table. For example patients who were referred to as D and B in the report took the constant attention and the former succumbed to his injuries after two hours. the latter survived after given saline, but still needed constant attention. Another example is an unnamed patient who was not examined for over forty hours, had developed large maggots in his wounds. Unlike modern operating rooms, supplies could not be set up according to procedure. Because of the time required to properly sanitize blankets, many soldiers were without one. (Darby)

The civil war had many new technologies arise that made it unique compared to the wars of the past. One of these technological improvements was the introduction of the Ironclad warship. This technology was introduced during the showdown between the Monitor and the Merrimac . These two Ironclad warships fought to a stalemate , but this struggle forever changed how ships would be designed. Another technology that had not existed in previous wars in american history was the reconnaissance balloon it allowed the union to gather information and send it through telegraph to the various commanders. The civil war brought the first submarine, The CSS Hunley. The Hunley successfully sank the Union ship Housatonic, but unfortunately the Hunley itself was damaged. The submarine would eventually prove to be important for all armies in the wars to come.

The Civil War, also called The War Between the States, was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. What made the Civil War such a massacre? The Civil War was such a bloodbath because the technological advances were so far superior to the tactics of the infantry, that the weapons virtually obliterated the soldiers. Soldiers would form lines known as a battalions. In these battalions, soldiers would basically march to their deaths. In addition to weapons doing so much damage, fortification on the battlefield was far more advanced than had ever been before. The Cheveau-de-frise was the main focus of armored fortification in the Civil War. This fortification consisted of 10 to 12 foot

During the Civil War, medicine was an important aspect for every soldier due to the fact that many soldiers had to fight and ended up with injuries also there were many types of illnesses. In this essay, I will focus on the advance of medicine during the Civil War. Also how the soldiers and civilians were treated as well as how sanitize their location was, are questions I will try to answer. Also, I will like to include some of most known causes of deaths during the Civil War and the types of diseases that soldiers would come in contact with. Include who was in charge of the hospitals during the war. I will also include information from letters and documents that the nurse and doctors wrote while the Civil War was going one and what kind of establishments were created and the kind of equipment they used in the hospital. Since the period of the Civil War was and is consider to be the start and growth of the medical industry it is important for me to find out why.

Many physicians and caregivers were very hard to find, especially with proper training. In the barracks, the military was contained in a closed space, had poor hygiene, and all of these components led to the spread of disease and infection (Health and Medicine in Revolutionary America, n.d.). As reported by Dosespot, when living the life of a soldier in the American Revolution, you had a higher chance of dying in a hospital than in the battlefield. According to statistics, there was a 75% percent chance that you would survive treatment from a wound or illness if you seek treatment in a hospital. Though, there was a 98% chance that you live through a battle.

During the Civil War the only major problem second to getting shot in the face, was a shot to the chest. At the time doctors did not really understand how to treat a wound of that type, and usually the major issue was the negative pressure exerted outwards, leading to the collapse of the lungs and soon after, suffocation. Contributing to this problem, the doctors observed that during their war, the french had an 8 percent survival rate from major damage to the chest, leading to many medical practitioners to simply refuse treating chest wounds. Early into the war, however, soldiers would be blessed with the miracle of knowledge, knowledge of how to close chest wounds. Benjamin Howard, a young assistant surgeon, otherwise known as a cub surgeon,

People like Clara Barton and William A. Hammond played a strong part in the medical field during the Civil War. Clara Barton, a humanitarian and founder of the American Red Cross, cared for wounded and delivered a lot of medical supplies and administered relief at the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862. Every effort was made to prevent death by human error and ignorance through the development of organized and more advanced practices. William A. Hammond was a surgeon general and he standardized, organized and designed new hospital layouts and inspection systems. William also wrote the book on hygiene for the army (Dixon np).

The Civil War began because of uncompromising differences between free and slave states over the power of government, in April 12, 1861. Most people died in the Civil War because of deadly diseases. The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most important event in the Civil War. Soldiers fought from July first to July third 1863. Do soldiers really know how to treat an injury during a war? In the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara’s published in 1974, we are exposed to historical figures that could have treated their injuries and made them minor if they had modern medicine. With the medical training we have today the figures could have saved their limbs and known how to take better care of themselves in such uncomfortable situations.

According to Schroeder-Lein, of the two amputation methods, Confederate doctors preferred and further developed the circular operation which was more efficient and less painful, while the Union doctors leaned toward the faster flap operation. Combined, soldiers on both sides received over 50,000 amputations, with a 27% mortality rate. Over time, the doctors transitioned towards performing more excisions of bone fragments and application of splints once realized that they could avoid amputations (Schroeder-Lein, 520). Also with the onset of the Civil War came the conversion of popular anesthesia from ether to chloroform, the safer substance that led to the administration of anesthesia in areas will good air circulation, like the procedure would be performed today if chloroform were the last resort (Schroeder-Lein, 613-633). Innately, soldiers feared the endless possibilities of blood loss, gangrene, et cetera, and experienced historic levels of discomfort and death.

The introduction of steam and iron reshaped and defined new tactics during the 1815-1866 time period with emphasis on the Civil War. Primarily, the invention of the steam engine and rifled artillery forged from iron would define a new tactical advantage for both Confederate and Union Armies. Furthermore, these two new inventions would also greatly increase the effects of speed, lethality, and mass at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels during the Civil War.

At the time, medicine in both countries (truthfully worldwide) was still very primitive. There were surgeons who were part of the military, and medics were very sought after. There was little they could do to help, however. According to the Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, “the great majority of wounds and of sickness should be treated by the regimental surgeon,” (Sherman 393). The treatment given back then to a wound from a gunshot wound was amputation without anesthesia- as it would not be invented yet for about a century- and after surgery, doctors did not wash their hands or instruments, exponentially increasing the likelihood of infection of a wound and lowering the likelihood of survival. The Union had an advantage in this, though not due to superior doctors or medicine. The Union had roughly four and a half times as many citizens as the

With many soldiers dying from disease on the battlefield, the help of medical advances decreased the mortality rate of all soldiers on both sides. Before the medical advances of the Civil War, many soldiers died from wounds and diseases on the battlefield. In fact, for every soldier that died on the battlefield, two soldiers would die of disease. These diseases included some that appeared on the Oregon Trail and the expansion out West, such as dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and the dreaded malaria.

“War is the only proper school for a surgeon” - Hippocrates. That would be the case in the early 20th century. The early 20th century is commonly associated with war, blood shed and conflict. During this time is when lots of people died. People died due to many things; war or battle, lack of medical care, or even due to an epidemic. Medical care was rough back then, the shortage of doctors and the lack of medical facilities made the death toll higher. Today, we see less people die due to epidemics, lack of medical care and even less due to battle. Thats all possible because medical care during the 20th century is very different from today, given that today we have better facilities, more doctors, and more advanced technology.