Similarities Between Roman And Military Hospitals

Medicine played and still plays a major part in the world. However, modern medicine did not prosper until long after the civil war, which we can assure are some of the reasons many soldiers and residents lives were compromised. From amputations, sanitation, a lack of surgeons and supplies with, contagious fevers and diseases a great deal of people went long winters and summers suffering from things that doctors were incapable of curing solely based on the fact medicine had not reached the level of quality and quantity it needed to be at the time.

The medicines and medical techniques used during the Civil War were very primitive for their time. Extremely little was known about germs and the dangers of infections. In Recovery, it is stated that, “Treating wounds and illnesses with medication had become common—opiates, stimulants, sedatives, diuretics, purgatives, and more were widely available and used. The first pills had been made in the early 1800s. The stethoscope and the

How were injured soldiers treated during the circus war? How does our medical treatments now compare to how they were treated before? Did the way injured soldiers were treated have to do with the cause of their death? Wounds were treated very differently to how they’re treated now and it always makes people wonder how people still survived and were able to live longer. It all reflects on technology, transportation, antiseptic practices, and surgical techniques. Throughout war and history more soldiers died from diseases than they did from injuries and often the medical treatments they would get for their injuries wouldn’t make them better but worse and it was what caused more deaths.

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.

The Civil War had a tremendous death toll. In fact, it had more deaths than any of the previous wars combined. At the time, it was thought that the soldiers in battle died from the wounds or amputations they received. The true cause of death came from disease. These harsh conditions were contributed by unqualified doctors and non-sterile equipment. During the Civil War, the true issue was not only the wounds received in battle but the infectious diseases that ultimately led to the soldier’s death. When this was discovered, doctors knew some action needed to take place. Hospitals and sanitation standards were improved. The Civil War contributed to an evolution of medicine and how to combat victims plagued with disease.

Doctors and surgeons involved in the war were high in demand and were often sent to the battlefields untrained lacking the fundamentals of medicine and understanding of the importance of sanitation. “It was the tragedy of the era that medical knowledge of the 1860’s had not yet encompassed the use of sterile dressings, antiseptic surgery, and the recognition of the importance of sanitation and hygiene".2 This made it extremely difficult for doctors and surgeons treating injured soldiers because outbreaks of diseases spread quickly and easily due to lack of implementing basic sanitation rules. Things like changing clothes with vomit or bile on them, having clean water and food, sterilizing equipment, or keeping the treatment areas clean could have prevented many deaths. Unfortunately, because the doctors of the era were lacking the knowledge and expertise we have now, many soldiers with gunshot wounds would have had an amputation. Since there were no antibiotics during this time, it was easier to amputate an arm or leg than treat a gunshot wound to the area because the bullets were made from a solid ounce of lead and would shatter into many small pieces on impact. Performing amputations allowed for surgeons to move quickly from patient to patient and treat a larger number of soldiers increasing the number of lives

There was limited supply of medical equipment as a result they were using saws, scalpels, and knives to operate surgery in the field. It was long ago before the introduction of sterility of medical instrument and so the instrument became bridge of contamination of disease between soldiers. “Recalled on surgeon; ‘we operated in old blood-stained coats with infected hand” (Oates, 362). It was a head of discovery of antibiotic, wounds and scars could easily develop to infection and therefore limited their survival. Doctors and nurses were limited in number as well their distribution center around the battle. Soldiers were wounded so badly and doctors knew nothing except to devise amputations. They did all they can to alleviate the pain of the wounds by amputation but they were too surpassed by patients. There were no ambulances to carry victims to the medical centers nor had the doctors to see every patient with special

Surgical procedures were as simple as having two assistants pinning the patient down while the surgeon cut off the soldier's wounded limb. These surgical procedures were usually done by a butcher. Wounds were caused by muskets or the bayonet. In order for the wounds to be treated, in a surgical procedure, the surgeon would use his amputation knife to cut down to the bone of the damaged limb. Only thirty-five percent of the patients who went through this procedure survived and the rest died due to shock, loss of

During the Civil War, medicine was not at all advanced and many soldiers died due to this. Whether the soldiers were fighting for the Union or the Confederacy, they faced many difficulties on the battlefield that affected their health greatly. The conditions were rough and there were never enough medical personnel to properly treat the injured or ill soldiers. Even though there were many flaws in this system, it is from these flaws that current medical practices were established by a few important people at this time.

In Ina Dixon’s article about “Civil War Medicine,” she said that the heavy and constant demands of the sick and wounded sped up the technological progression of medicine, wrenching American medical practices into the light of modernity. Field and pavilion hospitals replaced makeshift ones and efficient hospitalization systems encouraged the accumulation of medical records and reports, which slowed bad practices as accessible knowledge spread the use of beneficial treatments.Several key figures played a role in the progression of medicine at this time. Jonathan Letterman, the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, brought “order and efficiency into the Medical Service” with a regulated ambulance system and evacuation plans for the wounded. As surgeon general of the Union army, William A. Hammond standardized, organized and designed new hospital layouts and inspection systems and literally wrote the book on hygiene for the army. Clara Barton, well-known humanitarian and founder of the American Red Cross, brought professional efficiency to soldiers in the field, especially at the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862 when she delivered much-needed medical supplies and administered relief and care for the wounded. Disease and illness took a heavy toll on soldiers, but as these historic characters show, every effort was made to prevent death caused by human error and ignorance through the

The medical treatment in wars has changed very much over the years since the Civil war and WW2. The Civil war took place during 1861- 1865. Civil war medical treatment was not very sanitary they would give the soldiers whiskey as Anastasia when giving them amputations. WW2 was a big step from the civil war in sanitation and medical treatment. In WW2 the nurse would give morphine to the soldiers to make them sleepy(www.med-dept.com.)

According to mentalfloss.com article “ 5 Medical Innovations of the Civil War”, the war was the bloodiest wars of the country, with over a million casualties. Before the war, medical people would try to TLC a bullet infected limb, but as the injuries were more frequent, they discovered the best way to save the limb, and a life, was to just amputate the limb, going as far from the heart as possible, and not cutting at joints, this lowered the death rate to thirty percent compared to the usual seventy- five percent. Unfortunately, they didn’t discover and use anesthetic inhalers, later and more often. Although that was one of the discoveries, along with closing chest wounds, and facial reconstruction. The number of casualties from this war was overly devastating, although with many to treat, surgeons and medicine, came a long

There would’ve been many more deaths in the Civil War if it wasn’t for the medicine. Many people’s arms or legs were shot or injured in war. If soldiers didn’t take care of the wound, it would most likely get infected, which happened to most people who were shot. Doctors in the war used amputation, which is when you cut off an arm or a leg. It was an extremely painful, quick, and easy process, but it saved many lives. Awhile after the Civil War started, doctors discovered a new way to make amputation hurt less; the Anesthesia inhaler. The Anesthesia inhaler was an inhaler that used chloroform to knock patients out. While the patient was passed out, the doctors and nurses would amputate the person’s arm or leg. After that, doctors usually put a prosthetic arm or leg on the patient. Prosthetic arms and legs were great, but they were usually hard to deal with. During the Civil War, people discovered that if you added different joints, ball bearings, and other tools to replace ligaments and tendons, it was easier to deal

The battle field of World War 1 was an experience that no man can describe in words. The heart break, catastrophy, and pain are only a few things that the soldiers will never forget. There are a couple of men that had the opportunity to come face to face with some of the toughest scenes to see, the Stretcher-Bearers. The Stretcher-Bearers were the men that ventured out into the horrible wasteland; to find wounded soldiers and bring back to the field hospital, to try to save their lives.

The Roman Army was well-organized. Soldiers were trained to fight and to defend themselves and used various weapons.