"Medical and surgical care during the American Civil" Topic

"This review describes medical and surgical care during the American Civil War. This era is often referred to in a negative way as the Middle Ages of medicine in the United States. Many misconceptions exist regarding the quality of care during the war. It is commonly believed that surgery was often done without anesthesia, that many unnecessary amputations were done, and that care was not state of the art for the times. None of these assertions is true. Physicians were practicing in an era before the germ theory of disease was established, before sterile technique and antisepsis were known, with very few effective medications, and often operating 48 to 72 hours with no sleep. Each side was woefully unprepared, in all aspects, for the extent of the war and misjudged the degree to which each would fight for their cause. Despite this, many medical advances and discoveries occurred as a result of the work of dedicated physicians on both sides of the conflict…"
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Amicalement
Armand

I think the word "care" is stretching things a bit.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

It's interesting that more casualties were caused by the Minie ball than any other weapon. I would have thought canister would be up near the top?

The tables described casualties that made it to the hospital to be treated. My guess is that very few of the guys who were caught in front of a gun using canister made it to a hospital.

You may find this interesting regarding medical care:

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Yes… many thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

I need a t-shirt with "Ignatz Semmelweiss Died For Your Sins" on it. The patron saint/martyr of sterile technique--Google his story, and ask your physician to wash his/her hands before examining you next office visit. He had the answer, but was crushed by the current medical culture of his times.