Hippocrates once said, “War is the only proper school for a surgeon.” War, for the medical industry, can be considered an opportunity to grow. Many times, during war, the medical industry builds as it attempts to find faster, better, and more accurate ways to treat and heal. The first and second World Wars are no exceptions. Throughout the course of World War One and World War Two, the medical industry developed to its current status through the discovery and innovations of medicine, treatments, and experiment.
During the World Wars, injuries and illnesses that appeared in soldiers and workers were usually common or similar within other patients. New weapons created in World War One,
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The path to treatment included getting help from the stretcher bearers, traveling to regimental aid post, from the motor ambulance to the casualty clearing station, and from the hospital train to the nearest base hospital. In calm periods of time, injured soldiers could be taken from the front to the base hospital in less than a day (Ahsan). Hospitals were put in any empty building, and the casualty clearing stations were usually set in tents, where surgery was performed to amputate and operate on arms and legs. In France, a guillotine similar to the one used for decapitation, was the instrument used to amputate limbs. Though this was traumatic and harsh, it prevented infection and often saved the lives of wounded soldiers (Anderson). In World War One, infection was a serious complication. There were not any antibiotics or sulfonamides at the time, leading to several different types of methods being used to avoid any other complications. An example of a commonly used alternative method was called debridement. In this practice, the tissue around a wound was cut away and then sealed. After using carbolic lotion to clean the wounds, the wounds were then concealed with gauze that was soaked with the same lotion. In some severe cases, wounds were ‘bipped’, or smeared with bismuth iodoform paraffin paste to avoid infection (Anderson). …show more content…
The British Army started the use of blood transfusions as treatment. On the other hand, it was Captain Oswald Robertson, a U.S. Army doctor, who had the realization that it was necessary to accumulate a supply of blood before it was needed. Robertson, with the use of sodium citrate to avoid the coagulation of blood, founded the first blood bank in the Western area (Ahsan). Named after a Welsh surgeon by the name Hugh Owen Thomas, the Thomas Splint was an invention that connected a fractured leg. Eighty percent of soldiers died after breaking their femurs in the beginning of World War One. Later, in 1916, that eighty percent became the number of soldiers who survived a broken femur. Due to a high number of head wounds toward the start of World War One, the Brodie Helmet was included in the average first aid kit in 1915 (Ahsan). Though not usually acknowledged, a Russian man called Filatov invented the work used on skin grafts. Additionally, ‘biogenic agents’ used to promote the “healing and regrowth of a damaged area” was worked on by Russians (Trueman). The first actual investigation of mosquito bites happened in World War Two. With the help of soldier volunteers from Australia, Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley looked into the problem, which, in 1948, helped the workings of Shortt and Graham. Work on tetanus
This allows the soldiers to apply pressure without having someone else to assist them. The tourniquets could only be used on wounds that occur on the arms or legs. Fibrin bandages are now used to decrease the loss of blood and the number of deaths. The treatment for a damaged limb at times, for some soldiers, was to amputate at an earlier time because it could later result in a good outcome. Anesthesia was created to prevent a lot of people from suffering pain during the operation. Military and civilian anesthesiology has connections in the treatment of trauma for critical care medicine. A vaccine was created to prevent Smallpox, it helps your body develop an immunity towards
World War I was a war of innovation with new artillery and tactics, but also a deadly war in which approximately ten million soldiers died in or injuries sustained from battle. As injuries increased throughout the war, the need for medical assistance was constantly growing. Surgery is considered an art and like art, it evolved and new techniques were developed, making an injury that could kill someone survivable. For instance, in the Civil War most surgeons would immediately amputate and in World War I surgeons began trying much harder to save limbs. Blood transfusion allowed surgeons to reduce patient death from blood loss because of the ample supply of blood from fellow soldiers. Sanitation improvements led to fewer deaths from infection
Soldiers did not die only from warfare casualties,especially the war atmosphere in the trenches brought health issues and diseases which caused most of the death during WW1.Some of this diseases were caused because of weather change , lack of hygiene and the filthy environment.Many of this diseases were insignificant colds but others were deadly as Shell Shock or Trench Foot.
George Wunderlich once stated, “The American Civil War often gets credit for ending slavery and reshaping the federal government in this country. But the war between the states has another, often overlooked legacy: It may have started a new era in modern medicine” (“Civil War Medicine Quotes”). Contamination of medical equipment, poor sanitation methods, and lack of efficient medical procedures all led to the spread of disease, which resulted in death. However, modern medicine has significantly improved from the Civil War, due to its horrendous medical practices. The Civil War had countless impacts on the nation, but its most significant impacts were the advances in medical equipment, procedures and sanitation.
There was more to World War II then just soldiers battling in the front lines.Soldiers were also battling for their lives due to infections and diseases. Although when most people think about World War 2 they think about the Nazis, the Holocaust, or Pearl harbor, behind the scenes medicine was part of what kept us running. Soldiers relied on medicine heavily during World War two and the need for treatments were great causing a rush on medical advances. A lot of the medical advances made during World War 2 would benefit us even after the war ended.
The Civil War was a very eventful, horrific, terrifying, and brutal war in American History. It’s circumstances caused the lives of SO many courageous soldiers. With the help of the medical treatments or procedures that came about, several keys of life, whether daily life or life amidst war, improved. The innovation of medicine in the civil war is very important because of it’s effects on the war, modern medicine, and changes in treatment on the battlefield.
The American Civil War was a horrible time of pain and suffering, especially to those who fought in the war. The Civil War caused hundreds and thousands of deaths, yet many of these were not the result of battle wounds. About two thirds of deaths from the Civil War were attributed to disease. Of course, even though the majority of soldiers that did not die during the war left without limbs, and left with trauma and disabilities, the results could have been much worse without the medical advancements we gained during the war. Technical advances in hygiene, surgery, and medical efficiency all became substantial outcomes that furthered medical practices and helped shape medicine in the modern age.
Surgeons usually thought that amputating soldiers would save their lives. Surgeons would usually use amputation kits to amputate a wounded soldier The extent of destruction from this slug was massive, as it would not only crush the bone at impact but also destroy the bone three inches around the impact(www.cprcertified.com.) Other soldiers would carry the wound to the hospitals in carts which could carry multiple soldiers at a time. The ambulance crop was developed to move soldiers with carts.
Imagine going through all the pain in surgery and infections. Medicine during the Civil War can be compared to today’s medicine. For instance the surgical instruments, infections, where surgeries took place and where they take place now, sanitized and unsanitized tools and equipment. Today’s infections have changed greatly over time due to the change in sanitary conditions and the equipments surgeons use today.
World War I was made even worse by the work of industrial chemists. Soldiers from Ypres, Belgium would claim that a shimmering cloud appeared around their feet and a strange peppery smell in the air in 1917. This gave it its well-known name. Within a day, they have shown signs of severe itching that were caused by dreadful blisters and other wounds. Some stated to be coughing up body fluid. Near the end of the war, it instilled terror across the battlefield. Leaving up to 10,000 people dead and more injured. Mustard gas was created in 1822, but it wasn’t well-known as harmful till 1860.
Many ailments plagued the camps and made the soldiers too sick to fight. Vaccinations were not introduced in the 1800s. Diseases like mumps, measles, and smallpox were present in the camps. An abundant amount of soldiers died of the diseases and only a handful were lucky to survive. The camps lacked a hygienic environment. Soldiers were provided little clothing. In addition, they were also feeding on unhealthy foods and drank unsanitary water. As a result, soldiers died from dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever. In the camps, nurses and doctors participated in aiding the sick soldiers. However, they lacked the education of bacteria. They often treated sick soldiers that were shot. The bullet called the minie ball spreaded bacteria inside the soldiers. Bloodletting, purging and blistering were recommended as a remedy from the doctors without prior knowledge of infection. The doctor’s last resort was to amputate the soldier’s arms or legs to prevent the spreading. The instruments that were used on the soldiers were no clean. The soldiers would use the dirty instruments on the men which would spread more bacteria. They would not even wash their hands. By 1861, president Lincoln addressed the issue and created the sanitary commission. The sanitary commissioners provided nurses and ambulance drivers. In addition, they also provided the education for disease and hygiene. Doctors and nurses were trained in the
They were moved by a combination of people , which were later collected by stretcher bearers and were brought far enough beyond the lines of battle. They were then transported by horse or cart, and sometimes by motorized ambulance, when available.[2] These men would be moved until they reached a location where they could receive treatment for their injury. Just like today, there were hospitals available, but back then, they were mostly set up in abandoned buildings or any available unoccupied buildings. However, for more serious injuries requiring emergency care, Casualty Clearing Stations were set up in tents. Here surgeries were often performed. In the early 20th century, medical utensils were limited, resulting in the use of guilotines for the amputation of limbs.[3] Today not every injury is an emergency, thus the emergency room. But back then almost every case was an emergency. While now we have a very structured emergency procedure, requiring triages, during the early 20th century, triages were
This new article discus a book called “Out of Carnage” written by Alexander Griffin. Griffins books’ main argument was that medical advances came directly from war. He proved that medical advances in war immensely kept fatalities low and recovery time quick. This book goes through major time in war where disease was prominent and how new medicines were used to address the injured troops need. The author also discusses diseases and injuries that came from war like typhus, malaria and war burns and he look at how these issue were addressed and how they spawned new medical technology. I think this article would have been noteworthy in 1945 because it was the time of World war II. People had seen the negative effect of war and I’m sure at the
World War Two, a harsh period of time in the 1930s-1940s, filled with controversial arguments, political battles, fights to the death, but most importantly, medical advancements. Did you know that without the research and discoveries made during World War Two, our medical programs would probably be lacking the information we have today? It’s very true, and in my opinion, the war strengthened our medical abilities, and it really put our world to the test. New medicine had been discovered, while old medicine had been improved; horrible medical experiments performed by the Nazis occurred during this time; but most importantly, World War Two has affected our medical programs that we have presently. These
During the late 1800s and the early 1900s the World War begun. The war left behind many injured soldiers with shattered jaws, blown-off noses and lips and skull wounds caused by the weapons