Amputations: Anesthesia During The Civil War
One fourth of every procedure that occurred during the war was not amputations. Amputations at this time were quick taking only 2 to 10 minutes to complete. During this time they realized the farther from the torso the better the survival rate, as well as the fact the faster the procedure happens after the wound the better. They did not let just any physician amputate either, only the most experienced surgeons get to perform the surgery. Also keep in mind that amputations were not carried out using proper sterile techniques.
Anesthesia was out by this time and was used in many cases during the Civil War. Though to some surprise the preferred method was chloroform because it worked faster, could be used in small amounts, and was nonflammable. …show more content…
This including overcrowding and filthy camps. The food was poorly stored , ill cooked, and lacked vitamin C. Eventually though the Army of the Potomac added rules to try to reduce this spread. According to Robert, “camps had to be pitched on new ground and drained by ditches 18 inches deep, tents had to be struck twice a week to sun their floors, cooking had to be done only by company cooks, all refuse had to be burned or buried daily, soldiers had to bathe twice a week and change clothing a least once a week, and latrines had to be 8 feet deep and covered by 6 inches of dirt …show more content…
There was about 711 cases per every 1000 soldiers. Also common was malaria being about 224 of every 1000 soldiers. A major illness in the South was yellow fever, killing over 10,000 people. Along with all of these there were 75,000 cases of typhoid during the war, mainly resulting from contaminated food and water. Even though there had been a vaccine invented for smallpox years before the war there was still come cases though the numbers were fairly minimal. The main issue being was there was a short supply of these vaccinations during the war ultimately resulting in the transmission of syphilis.
World War 1
America was late to join WW1, trying to avoid the war all together though that was not the case. During WW1 though, medicine made several major advances. WW1 was the first real mass killing of the 20th century, with an estimated 10 million deaths. Even with all these deaths, doctors did learn a lot to improve a chance of survival for soldiers.
One major issue that was noticed was infection in wounds. Infection was one of the causes of amputation being that soldiers lived in filthy trenches. They began to realize that antiseptics were not doing they job. With this knowledge they started to send chemist and physicians into battle to come up with a solution. Henry Dakin, a British biochemist, created a solution of hypochlorite which killed bacteria without burning the skin. Shortly
Anesthesia was out by this time and was used in many cases during the Civil War. Though to some surprise the preferred method was chloroform because it worked faster, could be used in small amounts, and was nonflammable. …show more content…
This including overcrowding and filthy camps. The food was poorly stored , ill cooked, and lacked vitamin C. Eventually though the Army of the Potomac added rules to try to reduce this spread. According to Robert, “camps had to be pitched on new ground and drained by ditches 18 inches deep, tents had to be struck twice a week to sun their floors, cooking had to be done only by company cooks, all refuse had to be burned or buried daily, soldiers had to bathe twice a week and change clothing a least once a week, and latrines had to be 8 feet deep and covered by 6 inches of dirt …show more content…
There was about 711 cases per every 1000 soldiers. Also common was malaria being about 224 of every 1000 soldiers. A major illness in the South was yellow fever, killing over 10,000 people. Along with all of these there were 75,000 cases of typhoid during the war, mainly resulting from contaminated food and water. Even though there had been a vaccine invented for smallpox years before the war there was still come cases though the numbers were fairly minimal. The main issue being was there was a short supply of these vaccinations during the war ultimately resulting in the transmission of syphilis.
World War 1
America was late to join WW1, trying to avoid the war all together though that was not the case. During WW1 though, medicine made several major advances. WW1 was the first real mass killing of the 20th century, with an estimated 10 million deaths. Even with all these deaths, doctors did learn a lot to improve a chance of survival for soldiers.
One major issue that was noticed was infection in wounds. Infection was one of the causes of amputation being that soldiers lived in filthy trenches. They began to realize that antiseptics were not doing they job. With this knowledge they started to send chemist and physicians into battle to come up with a solution. Henry Dakin, a British biochemist, created a solution of hypochlorite which killed bacteria without burning the skin. Shortly