Bullets and Bacilli: The Spanish-American War and Military MedicineFor each soldier killed in combat during the Spanish-American War, more than seven died from diseases such as typhoid fever and malaria - a rate higher than that of the Civil War. During a time of rapid medical innovation and discovery, why did these soldiers die so needlessly? This work focuses primarily on military medicine during this conflict. Historian Vincent J. Cirillo argues that there is a universal element of military culture that stifles medical progress. This war gave army medical officers an opportunity to introduce to the battlefield new medical technology, including the X-ray, aseptic surgery and sanitary systems derived from the germ theory. With few exceptions, however, their recommendations were ignored almost completely. Scientific knowledge was not sufficient; putting these ideas into military practice required the co-peration of line officers and volunteer soldiers as well as a restructuring of military education. The influence of military experiences on the history of American medicine is often overlooked. Cirillo shows how preventable deaths during the Spanish-American War led to reforms that continue to save the lives of both soldiers and civilians to the present day. |
Contents
Uncle Sams Splendid Little War | 6 |
The Army and the Army Medical Department | 20 |
The Army Medical Department at War | 31 |
Typhoid Fever in the Rational Encampments | 57 |
The Round Robin the Dodge Commission and the EmbalmedBeef Scandal | 91 |
Outcomes of the War | 111 |
Reprise Typhoid Fever in the AngloBoer War | 136 |
Conclusion | 151 |
Appendixes | 157 |
Notes | 163 |
203 | |
227 | |
Common terms and phrases
Alger Almroth Wright American Medical Anglo-Boer Anglo-Boer War antityphoid inoculation Army Medical Department army's bacilli beef beriberi Boer Borden British Budd bullet Camp Thomas Camp Wikoff Campaign Carroll caused Cavalry Charles Civil command contract surgeons Corps Cuba Cuban deaths disease disinfected Dodge Commission Report enlisted Etiology female nurses George germ theory Gunshot Wounds hospital Infantry infected James John Leavenworth line officers London malaria McKinley Medi medical officers Miles Military Hygiene Military Medicine Military Surgery mortality rate mosquito Osler percent Philippines prevent quotation radiographs regiments Roentgen Rays Roentgenology Röntgen Roosevelt sanitary sanitation Santiago Senn Siboney sick South Africa Spain Spanish Spanish-American Spanish-American War Sternberg Surg Surgical tion troops Tropical Typhoid Board typhoid epidemic typhoid fever typhoid patients U.S. Army U.S. Military U.S. soldiers Union Army United States Army University Press Vaughan vols Volunteers Walter Reed Washington William Woodhull Wound Ballistics X-rays yellow fever yellow-fever York
References to this book
American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology Barton C. Hacker,Margaret Vining Limited preview - 2007 |
American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology Barton C. Hacker,Margaret Vining No preview available - 2006 |