Medical Technology Advances
"First the surgeon would cut off the blood flow with a tourniquet. After that he would take a scalpel and slice through the outlying tissue and flesh. Then he would use a hacksaw-like tool called a capital saw to saw through the bone. It had replaceable blades. After the bone and flesh was all sliced off, the surgeon would take silk sutures in the North, and cotton sutures in the South, and sew the major arteries and veins together. The limb would be dropped on a pile that was higher up then the table and the pile got thrown out after the day. Time was of the essence, so the soldier would be carried off of the platform and another soldier would be placed on the platform. This would take about fifteen minutes."(Amputations)It wasn't much different to be killed in World War II then it was during the Civil War or World War I. However, if the World War II GI was wounded by a bullet, shrapnel or taken down to disease such as malaria, or anything else that did not kill him, his chances for survival were much greater then his ancestor in the Civil War. During the Civil War, 50 percent or more of the men admitted to hospitals died, during World War I, it was 8 percent, World War II, 4 percent. (Encarta)
Throughout the many wars that America has faced, it has always needed the use of medics. The medics practically went through "hell" to become as skilled as they were. In world War One training for a medic became much more serious as to the Civil War. This was a major improvement from the earlier so-called system, where the medics randomly would roam around looking for wounded and when located they would attempt to transport them. Penicillin was one of the most widely used drugs in the war, and has saved many lives since it has been used during battle. As there was no medical licensing board at this time, these diploma factories were tolerated. Farther down the road, during the time of World War II the training and knowledge of a medic was astonishing. Penicillin unfortunately was not around in the Civil War, or even World War I. Unfortunately of those many they were poorly trained. When the war ended in 1865, more than eleven thousand doctors had served or were serving, many of these as acting assistant surgeons, uncommissioned and working under contract, often on a part-time basis. By the time of World War II: " A boy gets hurt on the line.
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