Medicine During The Civil War Essay
Imagine going to war against Alexander the Great’s army and a sword was your only weapon. This is exactly what nurses, surgeons, and physicians went through during the Civil War. Conversely, nurses, surgeons, and physicians were not fighting an actual war, but they were fighting diseases and infections in U.S soldiers. During the Civil War, the medical field would not be characterized as ideal. The Civil War website states, “Of the approximately 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. Combating disease as well treating the legions of wounded soldiers pushed Americans to rethink their theories on health and develop efficient practices
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These aggressive “remedies” of the heroic era of medicine were often worse than patients’ diseases; those who overcame illness during the war owed their recoveries less to the ingenuity of contemporary medicine than to grit and chance. Luck was a rarity in camps where poor sanitation, bad hygiene and diet bred disease, infection, and death. (Dixon)
Surprisingly, this system of the medical field was considered developed; since the time doctors used leeches and herbs to treat ailments. Hospitals are now filled with a wide array of technology that has significantly improved the practice of medicine. Technology has improved the field of medicine in various ways since its inception thereby improving patient care and overall health of society.
To answer the question, how has modern digital technology affected medical applications, a comparison of the past will enlighten the differences. we must compare it to something to see the difference. Humans have been practicing medicine in one way or another for over a million years. In order to understand how modern medicine got to where it is now, it is important to understand the history of medicine. In this case, the comparison is to an earlier time period when both medicine and technology did not reach its full potential. There are six eras that have relations with the medical field: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greek, Medieval
These aggressive “remedies” of the heroic era of medicine were often worse than patients’ diseases; those who overcame illness during the war owed their recoveries less to the ingenuity of contemporary medicine than to grit and chance. Luck was a rarity in camps where poor sanitation, bad hygiene and diet bred disease, infection, and death. (Dixon)
Surprisingly, this system of the medical field was considered developed; since the time doctors used leeches and herbs to treat ailments. Hospitals are now filled with a wide array of technology that has significantly improved the practice of medicine. Technology has improved the field of medicine in various ways since its inception thereby improving patient care and overall health of society.
To answer the question, how has modern digital technology affected medical applications, a comparison of the past will enlighten the differences. we must compare it to something to see the difference. Humans have been practicing medicine in one way or another for over a million years. In order to understand how modern medicine got to where it is now, it is important to understand the history of medicine. In this case, the comparison is to an earlier time period when both medicine and technology did not reach its full potential. There are six eras that have relations with the medical field: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greek, Medieval