5 Facts
about Battlefield Medicine in Medieval Times before Advancement in Technologies
Many significant advances were made that revolutionised war. Before these advances were made, little skills and knowledge was known by battlefield medics in saving soldiers' lives. Let us show you some facts about battlefield medicine during mediaeval times, before there were any technological advances.
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Most medics on the battlefield learned skills and knowledge through real-world experience.
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Only 5% of doctors during the civil war had ever performed an operation or seen a bullet wound. Most of them learned from real-world experiences, without the help of practice.
As time passed, technology got more and more advanced with each passing war. More training programs and special courses on treating injured soldiers were created for medics to develop skills to save soldiers’ lives on the battlefield.
2. Pee’s Power
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Urine has had various uses in the medicinal field during history of war. Before the advancements in medical technology, urine was used as an antiseptic to clean the all injured wounds, as well as others poisonous bites or gangrenous ulcers.
3. Manual Medical Record.
Early medical records were written in a massive six-volume collection of manuals which included patients’ cases, disease records, post-mortem reports, and follow-ups.
Nowadays, most medical health care facilities have implemented electronic systems to record patients’ medical records due to its efficiency, cost effectiveness, and ease of accessibility.
4. Horrific ways in healing wounds.
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Arrows were one of the early tools used in the surgery on the battlefield. Arrows were modified so that the tip would break off and remain in the victim’s body when it was pulled. Thus, special “arrow removers” were designed to take these arrows out. The wounds were then cauterized to stop the bleeding.
5. The major cause of death: Non-battle injury.
Disease was the major cause of death for soldiers during American Civil War. Poor hygiene in camps caused diseases such as mumps, typhoid, dysentery, etc. to spread among soldiers and civilians.
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Freudenheim, M. (2012). The Ups and Downs of Electronic Medical Records - The Digital Doctor. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/health/the-ups-and-downs-of-electronic-medical-records-the-digital-doctor.html?_r=0 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].
May, G. (2013). 10 Bizarre Medieval Medical Practices - Listverse. [online] Listverse. Available at: http://listverse.com/2013/07/31/10-bizarre-medieval-medical-practices/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].
McClanahan, C. (2012). The Medical Record (R)evolution. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynmcclanahan/2012/02/21/the-medical-record-revolution/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].
Sugg, R. (2011). The unusual uses of urine | Richard Sugg. [online] The Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/10/unusual-uses-of-urine [Accessed 12 Nov. 2015].