Essay On Civil War Medicine

Civil War Medicine Have you ever felt the horrible pain of one of your limbs being sawed off? I’m guessing not, but soldiers in the Civil War had it happen all the time. If you were shot in a leg or arm, the surgeons or nurses most likely cut off your limb. The Civil War hospitals were believed to be clean and safe, but were almost as dangerous as the battlefield. The nurses did not have the resources to kill off disease or infection. Although Civil War medicine seemed to be barbaric, it has greatly improved since then. First, the hospitals during the Civil War period were filled with disease and infection. Almost 200,000 people died from enemy fire during the war, but another 400,000 people died from an enemy that had no side, disease. The worst disease during the war was Dysentery. It would give you terrible diarrhea and had blood and mucus in your feces. Many diseases were easily spread …show more content…
They were responsible for treating the sick and wounded of their regiment. Sometimes they would treat men from other regiments if they had to. Many injuries were caused by the minnie ball. The standard bullet for the war. It was made from soft lead. The most common treatment surgeons used was amputation. Hip amputations had a mortality rate of eighty-three percent. Surgeons didn’t know anything about hygiene or sanitation, so they would use the same tools over and over again. The most the tools would get clean would be a quick wipe on the surgeon's apron. Despite others beliefs, surgeons played a big part in the Civil War hospitals.
Finally, although Civil War medicine seemed to be barbaric, it has greatly improved since then. There were many components of the Civil War. Just some of them were hospitals, medicine, treatment and hospital personnel. The Civil War was a very dangerous time period and not just because the battles that took place, but the disease and