As the very nature of warfare has changed throughout the ages, simultaneously the capability to deal with these technological advances has evolved. Weapons have arguably become more detrimental and in turn the casualties have risen and injuries have become more severe. Therefore, medicine has had to adapt to changes of weaponry in order to maintain a high population, otherwise wars would be lost and won more easily and the death toll would be elevated. There are four wars in the time period given that have contributed to the advancement of medicine; The Crimean War; The American Civil War; The Second Boar War; and World War One. Each will be investigated to determine how medicine may have changed the course of the war and if there is any correlation between the advancement of weaponry and medicine.
Firstly, the Crimean War (1853 – 1856) possibly saw the largest change in terms of nursing and the role of women. Extreme weather conditions in the winter between 1854 and 1855 plus heavy casualties sustained by the British are perhaps the main reasons why medical innovations occurred. During the war, it is estimated that 19,584 officers and soldiers died and a further 2,873 were permanently incapacitated of which only 3,754 died on the battlefield. The remainder of deaths occurred as a result of the inefficiency of the British Medical department. Hygiene was the principal problem as preventable diseases like scurvy affected 85% of casualties taken to hospital. The first hospital Florence Nightingale occupied in Scutari saw some of the worst death rates as most of those admitted were already dying of infected wounds, severe blood loss, exposure or a combination of all three factors. However, this led Nightingale to seek improvement i...
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Medicine has developed so dramatically over the last century that it is difficult to imagine a world in which its many benefits did not exist. Even as humans manage to eradicate some diseases, a look at history reminds us that there was a time when these and other diseases were rampant, and good health was the exception rather than the norm. There are many comparable time periods that medicine was needed and was used. With each, there were drastic changes to medical procedures and medical rules. Of the many different time periods that medicine was used; the comparison of medical care during the American Civil War and medical care during World War I is the most interesting. How did Civil War battlefield medicine compare with World War I battlefield medicine? That's a question that cannot be simply answered, but can be broken down into the overall sanitation of individuals, medical techniques, and overall medical staff for armies.
Medicine has been developed and discovered for thousands of years; however, the 1920’s was the first decade that fashioned a pathway for new developments and discoveries. Medical professionals have taken a huge hit for their fight in finding new inventions that can save patients from death’s hands. In the 1920’s, medicine has also taken a tremendous leap in controlling fatal diseases such as diabetes (Pendergast 110). Medicine in the 1920’s has altered the way medicine is shaped today; furthermore, the development and discovery of the iron lung, penicillin, and insulin were the first pertinent breakthroughs in medical history (“Iron” par. 7; Grimsley par. 15; “Banting” par. 13).
Where did our current medial technology and equipment develop from? From the gruesome Civil War, many of the base models to our current medical proceeders were produced. During the Civil War, brother verses brother were fighting against one another. Over five hundred men lost their lives fighting in one of the nations biggest, bloodiest battles. Obviously, the leading factor in deaths during the Civil War was wounded soldiers. Limbs were being shattered and wounds were becoming infected and spreading through out the body. Even though the Civil War was a gruesome time, many lifesaving procedures were born through it. Because of the high medical need during the American Civil War, necessary advances such as medical inventions, lifesaving procedures,
The Medical advancements of WWI had a huge impact on the war; many soldiers’ lives were saved due to advances in medicine and the invention of the ambulance. The First World War had many casualties and deaths, many of these deaths were not caused by the “invisible soldier”. Most of the injuries in the war were caused by large explosions and gunshot wounds. With the invention of the ambulance, many soldiers were aided sooner rather than later, resulting in their lives being saved.
Hygiene was extremely poor prior to and during World War 1, especially for soldiers. Because of this and the fact that fighting soldiers couldn’t clean up wounds quickly enough, there were many deaths caused by infection alone. One big issue was trench foot. This was an awful infection caused by soldiers standing in the trenches for too long during battles. Over the course of the war, hygiene and infectious issues were being better dealt with. These issues led to vaccinations and treatment advancements. The earliest forms of the vaccinations and treatments used today were actually introduced in 1914. Those vaccinations and treatments have been improved upon since World War 1. One of the most fascinating things regarding medical procedures at this time has to be blood transfusions. It was 1917, when the first of hundreds of millions of blood transfusions was made. This idea has been improved upon as
Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses” www.elizabethan-era.org. UK. N.P. 16 May 2012 Web. 17 Jan 2014
In the early 1900’s the United States’ medical field was stagnant causing many deaths in wartime. The majority of deaths in war times were often caused by diseases that were incurable. The United States medical field had to grow to current needs in war but it grew very slowly. The United States Army Ambulance Service was established on June 23, 1917 and the Sanitary Corps established one week later on the 30th. (David Steinert). The Sanitary Corps quickly expanded to nearly 3,000 officers during World War I but, this field was still much smaller than any other
Medical science had not yet discovered the importance of antiseptics in preventing infection. Water was contaminated and soldiers sometimes ate unripened or spoiled food. There weren’t always clean rags available to clean wounds. Because of frequent shortages of water, surgeons often went days without washing their hands or instruments. So now germs were passing from patient to patient.
Most of these medical advances were a result and were an influence of World War I. Probably one of the most important medical advances was the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by a Scottish, microbiologist named Alexander Fleming, he had actually accidently discovered it, when he noticed that a bacteria culture he had been growing, had stopped, he realized that it had been contaminated by a rare form of mold called Penicillin and that it had killed the bacteria.
Medicine during the Revolutionary War was indeed crude compared to modern practices. However, as Lars Hedbor points out, “the passage of time may make some of our contemporary practices look barbaric and primitive in turn” (Hedbor). Therefore, reflection upon the practices of bygone eras needs to be conducted with an open mind and proper perspective. It is important to maintain the understanding that the colonist did not have access to the same knowledge, resources, and technology which are used in modern times. The colonists may made different choices if they had modern knowledge. During the Revolutionary War, the methods used had been in practice for over a millennium and a half.
Diseases did not only affect the soldiers in a tremendous way. As I will discuss in greater detail further in this paper, diseases gave an advantage to the Northern side of the war, and this played a role in their victory. Additionally, the treatments and discoveries that were made as diseases were treated led to spillover effects that have changed certain aspects of our lives today, providing advances in the realm of medicine. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how diseases played a larger role in the Civil War than is generally known. Diseases did not affect the soldiers fighting for the Northern side and the Southern side in an equal fashion. In contrast, the Confederate soldiers were hindered much more deeply than the Union soldiers. This gave an advantage to the Union side.
While the stories of the Civil War are often dominated by those of courageous soldiers and their harsh conditions, often the history of those serving the soldiers is forgotten. While medical staff had been prominent in armies for hundreds of years, the American Civil War brought a new era of medical treatment and personnel to the world and future of warfare. Mass amputations and an almost organized chaos characterized both the Confederate and Union medical staffs. Out of the hundreds of thousands of deaths, more than half were caused by disease, rather than combat injuries. Unsanitary conditions and food with poor nutrients took the lives of many soldiers, with many other soldiers dying before they could reach a treatment center. Many surgeons
Replacing by monetized service appeared to be dishonoured (Robinson 2005). According to Dingwall et. al. (1988), since 1948 the idea of the hospital, nurses, doctors and health care started to be pretty clear. Looking at health care system in 1800 there was not legal term which could apply to the medical practice or define the role of the medical professionals. History of the nursing profession started to be shaped towards the organisation with the person of Florence Nightingale who contributed as a nurse in the Crimean War and had influential views (Abel-Smith 1960) on the healthcare sector those days. Although Nightingale high social connection and excellent education she gained could provide her with prospectfull career, she decided that there is higher task for herself where sick, poor and less fortunate calling for her help. Florence influenced by her religion believed that she needs to help others from the will of God (Pulliam 2014). Her attitude and important connections with social politic side made the possibility to introduced the changes and improve the public health, which was noticeable especially in the hospitals. Nightingale had significant impact and shaped modern nursing profession. She was determinate to never repeat the errors she witnessed during the Crimean War. Florence book, Notes on Nursing (1859) according to Alligood (2013) is about the clinical observation where Nightingale presenting the difference between the specifically trained nurses and the care
Stepansky, Paul E., Ph. D. "Category Archives: Medicine in WWI." Medicine Health and History. February 11, 2012. Accessed January 13, 2014. http://adoseofhistory.com/category/military-psychiatry/medicine-in-wwi/.
Nightingale’s achievements completely changed nursing into an honorable and respectable profession by establishing education and responsibilities into the job. Thereafter, nurses were no longer considered low, but became respected and an important role of human lives. She was contemporary in using her experience during the Crimean War to expose the initial instance of the linkage between research, theory and practice. In the Crimean War, she was a nurse who took notice of the uncleanliness and degradation of the military hospitals. She worked hard to bring the death rate down by making sanitary improvements and organizing levels of standards for clean and safe hospitals. She explained these methods in her Notes on Hospitals to improve increased ventilation, adding windows, improving drainage and increasing