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Essay On Civil War Medicine

1590 Words7 Pages

The Civil War Medicine and Disease

During the Civil War, both sides were destroyed by fight and disease. Nurses, surgeons, and doctors rose to the challenge of healing a nation and advanced medicine into the modern age. From the stink of putrefying flesh gently blowing through dirty and crowded camps to the messy/slightly insulting sicknesses of (sexually transmitted disease) and (disease that causes diarrhea), our modern disgust toward Civil War medical practices is generally gave a good reason for. However, while "advanced" or "(related to keeping clean and healthy)" may not be terms attributed to medicine in the nineteenth century, modern hospital practices and treatment methods owe much to (the things left for the future by) Civil War medicine. Of the (about) 620,000 soldiers who died in the war, two-thirds of these deaths were not the result of enemy fire, but of a force stronger than any army of men: disease. Fighting disease as well treating the large groups of wounded soldiers …show more content…

At the beginning of the Civil War, medical equipment and knowledge was hardly up to the challenges created by/presented by the wounds, infections and sicknesses which diseased/badly harmed and bothered millions on both sides. Sicknesses like (disease that causes diarrhea), (dangerous disease spread by dirty conditions), dangerous lung disease, mumps, measles and (dangerous lung disease) spread among the poorly carefully cleaned (to remove germs) camps, destroying/cutting down men already weakened by strong (and scary) fighting and very simple (or too small) diet. Also, armies at first struggled to efficiently tend to and transport their wounded, accidentally and carelessly sacrificing more lives to mere

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