An illustration showing a variety of wounds from the Feldbuch der Wundarznei (Field manual for the treatment of wounds) by Hans von Gersdorff, (1517).

Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and more recently combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded soldiers in or near an area of combat. A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the With the advent of advanced procedures and medical technology, even polytrauma can be survivable in modern wars. Polytrauma is a medical term describing the condition of a person who has been subjected to multiple traumatic injuries, such as a serious head injury AND a serious burn Battlefield medicine is a category of military medicine. The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations

Chronology of medical advances on the battlefield

• French military surgeon Ambroise Paré (1510-90) pioneered modern battlefield wound treatment. Ambroise Paré (born in Bourg-Hersent near Laval, France, c 1510 &ndash Paris, December 20, 1590) was a French surgeon
• The practice of Triage, by Dominique Jean Larrey during the Napoleonic Wars. Triage (ˈtriːɑːʒ is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition so as to treat as many as possible when resources are insufficient for all Dominique Jean Larrey ( 8 July, 1766 &ndash 25 July, 1842) was a French surgeon in Napoleon 's army and an important The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions
• American Civil War surgeon Jonathan Letterman (1824-72) originated modern methods of medical organization within armies. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Jonathan Letterman ( December 11 1824 &ndash March 15 1872) was an American Surgeon credited as being the originator of
• Advances in surgery - especially amputation, during the Napoleonic Wars and first world war on the battlefield of the Somme. Surgery (from the χειρουργική cheirourgikē, via chirurgiae meaning "hand work" is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or Surgery. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, fought from July to November 1916 was among the largest battles of the First World War
• The first practical method for transporting blood, by Norman Bethune during the Spanish Civil War. Blood is a specialized Bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells ��such as nutrients and oxygen—and transports Waste products Henry Norman Bethune ( March 4, 1890 &ndash November 12, 1939) was a Canadian Physician and medical innovator The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of
• Ambulances or dedicated vehicles for the purpose of carrying injured persons. An ambulance is a Vehicle for transporting sick or injured people to from or between places of treatment for an Illness or Injury.
• The extension of emergency medicine to prehospital settings through the use of emergency medical technicians. Emergency Medicine is a speciality of Medicine that focuses on the Diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses and injuries that require immediate medical attention The Emergency Medical Technician ( EMT) exists in many countries and is a health care provider trained to provide prehospital emergency medical care
• The establishment of fully equipped and mobile field hospitals such as the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and its successor, the Combat Support Hospital. A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities Due to the popularity of the series M*A*S*H, colloquial use might refer to any mobile military Field hospital. A Combat Support Hospital (CSH or "cash" is a type of Field hospital.
• The use of helicopters as ambulances, or MEDEVACs. Medical evacuation, often termed MEDEVAC or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being

The term "Meatball surgery" is a term used in battlefield medicine to refer to surgery that is meant to be performed rapidly to stabilize the patient as quickly as possible.

See also

• Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov, the "Founder of Field Surgery"
• Military medicine
• Medical corps
• Combat medic
• History of medicine
• Polytrauma
• Timeline of medicine and medical technology
• Textbook of Military Medicine

External links

• Battlefield Medicine - The Ancient World 2000 BC-AD 500
• Emergency War Surgery (2004), 3rd U.S. revision, Washington, DC: The Borden Institute. Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Никола́й Ива́нович Пирого́в ( November 13 ( N The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations A combat medic is a trained Soldier or sailor who is responsible for providing First aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, Death, and Disease. Polytrauma is a medical term describing the condition of a person who has been subjected to multiple traumatic injuries, such as a serious head injury AND a serious burn Timeline of Medicine and Medical technology Antiquity c 2600s BC - Imhotep wrote texts on Ancient Egyptian The Textbook of Military Medicine (TMM is a series of volumes on Military medicine published since 1989 by the Borden Institute, of the Office of The Borden Institute is a US Army “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education” located on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC

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