The Civil War: Changing The Face Of Medical Technology

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.

Most American citizens would agree that modern medicine has drastically changed American Society. The progression of medicine has impacted American lives in multiple ways. It has changed how the United States military uses medicine, how American scientists research medicine, and how everyday American citizens use medicine. Just 100 years ago, the people of the time period would not have been able to comprehend the medical advances that today’s society experiences, and what postmodern societies will continue to experience. Over time, the progression of medicine affected American soldiers during times of war, changed how diseases were discovered and treated, and impacted the way 21st century Americans view medicine and medical professionals.

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.

The Civil War was a time of great learning in the medical field. Without these advances, we would live in a completely different world. The question is though, would the same amount of medical supplies and knowledge in both the North or South have changed the eventual outcome of the Civil War? Similar circumstances in medicine would have only affected the mortality rates of both sides, not the outcome of the Civil War. Almost all odds were against the South from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time from the very start.

One reason why technology is good is that it has saved many lives. We have new machines to scan bodies and test blood and other fluids so that doctors can find diseases and

Modern surgical techniques were also perfected on animals that helped save many lives today such as hip replacement surgery, kidney transplants, heart transplants, and blood transfusions.

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.

During the Civil War, they had to have many medicines, operations, and surgeries done to themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, Paragraph 1). Some of these medicines we still use today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the basic principles of military health care remain the same. The deadliest thing that faced the Civil War soldier was disease. For every soldier who died in battle, two died from disease.

If you were a soldier in the Battle of Gettysburg do you think that you would’ve survived? The battle between the Union and the Confederacy lasted three days, from July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863 and in the end the Union was victorious. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The medical knowledge and equipment that the surgeons had back then were no match the types of illnesses and injuries that the soldiers had. The people that were that got shot during the Civil War, either had to get a body part amputated, got their gunshot wound covered with a bandage, opened up the wound to get the bullet out and then patch them up. Three people from The Killer Angels that got shot and just got their wound wrapped with bandage were John Buford, Buster Kilrain, and a runaway slave.

Since surgeons and doctors were not washing their hands, disease and infection rates increased causing medical officials to look for a cure; which led to many new medical advances. The deadly sanitation methods and systems during the Civil War highly impacted the sanitation methods medical officials use today.

The Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict in history with over 2,128,848 United States soldiers and over 1,082,119 Confederate soldiers fighting against each other, with over half a million deaths but it wasn’t just from fighting, they died from diseases. The Civil War was the biggest war to have so many deaths compared to other wars like WW1, or WW2.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night, you’re sweating, coughing, and starting to throw up. In today’s world, doctors are available for situations like these. Before the 1800’s, doctors were not as common, and their techniques were questionable. It wasn’t until the 1800’s, that doctors and scientists began discovering and creating medicines and vaccines to help cure sickness and disease. During the 1800’s, there were very many medical advancements. Because there were a lot of medical advancements, there were conflictions such as medical/scientific concerns, ethical concerns, legal changes, and how the economy was affected.

had gained momentum in the 1990s. This led to better equipment, a broader range of treatments and

Over the course of many centuries, medical technology has developed to a great extent. Studies show that recent equipment has evolved more in the last ten to twenty years than in the past thousand years. Before human time, people learned to treat themselves by just using natural substances. Now-a-days, our hi-tech systems in the medical field have been created for the most effective tools for a high level of patient care. While they advance the tools, it will then allow for quicker diagnosis, less pain, and fewer costs, which in the end will help save more lives. Some people are accepting that modern technology can buy them more time to live while others might find it quite alarming because they fear

Some technologies are useful, useless and some have toxic second natures. Technological advances help us live longer and make things more efficient. The medical field increase out