ipl-logo

Medicine In The Civil War Essay

931 Words4 Pages

The Civil War was bloody, killing around 620,000 people. Most of these people were killed by disease and sickness, and medicine was important. The Civil War split the country pinning North against South over the issue of slavery. Many things such as the Kansas-Nebraska act and the election of Abraham Lincoln led to the succession of 11 southern states. The war lasted from 1861 to 1865, and eventually the Union (the North) came out victorious under Ulysses S. Grant. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general was not killed or imprisoned, but the 13th amendment was ratified, ending slavery. During the war, there had to be some way to try and save those mortally wounded. A new era of medicine arose, with all new treatments, procedures, and practices. …show more content…

A lot of the surgeries that were used were not brand new, and had been used before. However, many of them were not as common practice before the war than after. The most recognized surgery of the Civil War was amputation. Day after day doctors cut off the arms and legs of patients. The surgery only took around 10 minutes, and limbs were thrown on top of a pile that sometimes reached five feet tall. Someone who witnessed the surgeries had said, “Tables about breast high had been erected upon which the screaming victims were having legs and arms cut off. The surgeons and their assistants, stripped to the waist and bespattered with blood, stood around, some holding the poor fellows while others, armed with long, bloody knives and saws, cut and sawed away with frightful rapidity, throwing the mangled limbs on a pile nearby as soon as removed." Surprisingly, even though things were very unsanitary, around 75% of amputees survived. Excision and resection were used later in the war, where only part of a limb was cut off instead of a whole one. Prosthetics also exploded due to the mass amount of amputees, and crutches were used for those who couldn’t afford prosthetics. Many more surgeries that are still used today or that have impacted today were discovered then, like neurosurgery and plastic surgery as well as the amputations. Without the Civil War some of these surgeries may have never

Show More
Related

Civil Rights Act Of 1866: Major Issues In National Politics

261 Words | 2 Pages

There were major issues in national politics. In 1865 President Abraham Lincon is assassinated and Andrew Johnson now becomes president. Then 13th Amendment is ratified, and its forbids slavery. But that really didn 't change the slavery issue and Black codes were enacted in the south to limit former slaves to become self-sufficient.

Read More

Analyze The Differences Between The North And South During The Civil War

76 Words | 1 Pages

During the Civil War there were many differences besides slavery. This war had the most American deaths than all of the wars the U.S. has been in combined! The south seceded from the north for slavery and other less important reasons. The North had more of nearly everything like navy, soldiers,horses, and food, while the south had slaves, cotton, and donkeys/mules. Throughout the war many great leaders rose and fell, battles fought, and great and terrible outcomes.

Read More

Battle Of Vicksburg Research Paper

430 Words | 2 Pages

It also gave the Union control of the Mississippi River. The Battle of Vicksburg was one of the most important Battles of the Civil War, and it helped speed up the end of the long fought war. It also let the north go into the deep south so they could eradicate the “Rebels”. It split the Confederacy in half. It made it easier to defeat the “Rebels” when they were not able to communicate with their other half.

Read More

Why Did The North Win The Civil War

261 Words | 2 Pages

Civil War The Civil War was from 1861-1865 . During the Civil War Abraham Lincoin was the president of the United States of America . In the South the president was Jefferson Davis not of the U.S.A but of the Confederate States of America . The North won the Civil War because they had more guns , men , and more ammo .

Read More

How Did The Election Of President Lincoln's Impact On The Civil War

85 Words | 1 Pages

The election of President Lincoln had a huge affect on the civil war. Lincoln made numerous attempts to free slaves and to end the civil war. All of his attempts had helped in ways to end the civil war. His attempts included of the 13th amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, his hard work on keeping the United States as one, and etc. Also because of the election of president Lincoln the 14th and 15th amendment was later on made as one of the Civil War Amendments.

Read More

The Influence Of Field Hospitals During The Civil War

306 Words | 2 Pages

Infections, like trench foot, were common during the civil war because there were no antibiotics, surgical instruments were never washed, and hospitals were very unhygienic. Doctors, surgeons, and nurses had very little knowledge of how disease and infection spread. Since there were no antibiotics, the most common solution for infections were amputations. If you did not have the limb amputated, normally you would die. So, it was either death or absence of a limb, which one would you

Read More

Post Civil War Dbq

1017 Words | 5 Pages

To say the time period following the Civil War in the United States involved a lot of change would be a understatement. Between the years 1870 and 1900 the people of the United States lived through a period of great change. Not only did they witness technological advances that would change their daily lives, they also saw new laws and organizations formed. All of this was done in hopes of improving the country. Many of these changes came about because of the type of businesses that were formed.

Read More

Reconstruction Dbq

1298 Words | 6 Pages

About 650,000 soldiers died during the Civil War; either by combat, accidents, diseases or starvation. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars America has faced. The Union beat the Confederates over slavery. The United States no longer has slavery and reconstruction follows the war. Reconstruction was different for everyone in the North and the South.

Read More

Medicine During The Civil War Essay

1911 Words | 8 Pages

The Civil War was filled with many diseases and deaths. Over 620,000 men lost their lives during this war; roughly two thirds of the casualties were caused by the lack of medical knowledge of many diseases. The remaining one third of the casualties was from the actual battle itself. The war became a turning point for many women interested in the medical field. The knowledge of medicine was the beginning of a new age during the Civil War, and the lack of it led to many gruesome deaths.

Read More

Short And Long Term Effects Of The Civil War

563 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War is a very brutal war in American History. One nation fought and killed its own people, and over half a million lives were destroyed and even more families were torn apart. The nation was divided because of slavery. In the North, people wanted to abolish slavery and make free states. In the South, people wanted to keep slavery because it was profitable to their economy and generated a 100% profit on all goods sold.

Read More

Union Soldier Life

887 Words | 4 Pages

There were over 30,000 amputation procedures done during the Civil War and depending on where you received the surgery is what your death rate was. “Hip amputations… had mortality rates of around 83%. An upper arm amputation… had a mortality rate of about 24%.” Not only did soldiers have to endure the war, once they came home their partners would notice that things were different with

Read More

Essay On Doctors During The Civil War

1442 Words | 6 Pages

It consists of blood, diseases, and dirt (43). This may cause long-term problems such as death and motor functions ("Sickness and Disease '' 13). With that there were many different surgeries performed during the Civil War. Plastic surgery was a significant advancement because of how brutal some injuries were. The reason for plastic surgery was the mercury that was in the cures for sickness at the time started to eat away at the bone and tissue surrounding it.

Read More

Confederate Turning Point

556 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War, a cause not only for the end of slavery, but to bring back the Confederacy as well. Many thought that simply because the North had a clear advantage over the South, such as population or weaponry, the war would end quickly, people picnicked on the first battles of war, watching the battles, but they didn’t fully realize how deadly new weapons had evolved. A single shot could easily kill anyone within range. People soon found how effective technology had become, and how well the South could fight back. Throughout the earlier years of the war the Confederates won nearly all their major battles, such as the very first battle at Fort Sumter, or the following one at Bull Run.

Read More

Civil War Reconstruction Essay

606 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War allowed the United States to make the changes necessary to unify the country. In addition, it began one of the most transitional periods in the United States’ history. This period, the Reconstruction, brought about many political, social, and economic changes, which were both beneficial and disagreeable. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Panic of 1873, and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan are just a few examples of heavily impacting events for the United States. During the Reconstruction period there were numerous political transformations in the country.

Read More

Argumentative Essay: The Impact Of The Civil War

466 Words | 2 Pages

The Civil War The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history with over 600000 American deaths reported. This war was fought to keep the Confederate States from leaving the Union. The Union won because they had a telegraph system and had more resources. The effect of the Union victory has had a large impact on society.

Read More

More about Medicine In The Civil War Essay

Related Topics

Open Document