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Essay On The Doctors During The Civil War

1463 Words6 Pages

The Civil War was a tragic war between the Union and the Confederate. Many soldiers died from both sides. There were many reasons why the war was being fought such as the succession of the south and the emancipation of slavery. The war began as soon as the Confederates had bombed Fort Sumter. During the war medicine was not as advanced as it is today. Only a few drugs were available that actually helped. The doctors did not know how to cure soldiers. With no medicine that actually helped cure the soldiers, many died from terrible diseases. Due to the fact that medicine was not advanced during the Civil War, doctors could not cure soldiers, causing many to die from diseases. Doctors during the Civil War were not well that trained. Doctors …show more content…

The surgical cots and surgeons’ clothes were not changed and were covered by the blood of previous patients. The unsanitary conditions of the Civil War field hospitals were the only option the surgeons had. The surgeon could afford to spend precious few minutes with each of the injured. Most Civil War surgeons had a basic kit, containing amputation tools, such as a saw, pliers, hook and a few knives of different sizes. Surgeons were taught that an amputation should be performed within the first two days following injury. No antibiotics were available to perform the surgery. Other powdered drugs were too difficult to carry or too expensive to have with. Many of the 60,000 operations performed during the civil war were amputations. Surgeons would use different knives, saws and even forceps for the …show more content…

The doctors were unsanitary. They didn’t wash their instruments at all. This caused diseases to quickly spread. But the doctors did a lot for the little amount of knowledge they knew about diseases and their lack of effective medicines. Hospitals were also unsanitary. Nurses played a big role in the maintaining the soldiers alive and healthy. Medicine advanced a bit through out the Civil War. This helped save many lives. If it was not for doctors, nurses, surgeons, many more soldiers would of died. They played a major role in the Civil War. Many soldiers got affected with diseases and these were the people who help treat them, and helped them to continue fighting for the side they were on. There were many advances through medicine through out the Civil War. An example would be anesthesia, which is still used today. The amputations also saved many soldiers from dyeing. Even though the medicine during the Civil War wasn’t as good as it today, it still managed to save many lives of soldiers fighting on both

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