![]() ![]() The soldiers lived in unhealthy conditions. More soldiers died from diarrhea than were killed in battle. Pope.Īlthough Civil War surgeons were using the primitive version of the ophthalmoscope of Civil War times, they were up to international standards in the treatment of eye injuries and even specialized in it.Ĭivil War physicians were up to international standards in their knowledge of the medical science of the time, and during the war quickly forged into leadership in military medicine. It apparently was under the command of Surgeon Bolling A. Near the end of the war, an Ophthalmic Hospital also was opened by the Confederate army in Athens, Georgia. to Chicago where it was named the Desmarres Hospital. 23, 1864, it was moved from Washington, D.C. During the war, the Union Army established such a specialty hospital. Specialty hospitals devoted to eye and ear diseases had begun to develop in the U.S. Civil War era physicians were up-to-date in their knowledge of traumatic diseases of the eye. The Headquarters of the Army Medical Department acquired its first achromatic microscope in 1863. Many surgeons returned to private pratice after the war, but some were addicted to pain-killers like opium, laudanum and alcohol like their patients. In wartime, quality control standards were frequently ignored, so some doctors were outright "quacks" with forged credentials. Younger doctors attended medical schools, but this caused many an old soldier to hold the opinion that they were only in the field to get more practice, not to save lives. Most surgeons received their training by the apprentice system, training with an older, more experienced doctor, and thus learning out-of-date medical techniques. Appointments were often based on nepotism, personal friendships and political patronage, with professional qualifications not the primary consideration. In 1861, there was no military review board for volunteer or contract surgeons. Contract surgeons were civilian doctors hired by the army, yet held no commissions and wore no uniforms or insignia of rank. Surgeons could either be commissioned officers of the Union or Confederate Army or volunteer officers in State service. Many doctors who saw service in the Civil War had never been to medical school, but had served an apprenticeship in the office of an established practitioner. Most wounds were caused by an elongated bullet made of soft lead, about an inch long, pointed at one end and hollowed out at the base, and called a "minie" ball, having been invented by Capt. Link To This Page - Contact Us - Confederate Medical Facts ?
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