Medication effects during the civil war

Medication effects during the Civil War

Vanessa Carrillo

University of Texas at El Paso

Medication effects during the civil war

Abstract

During the civil war there were so many issues that made a great impact on the medical

field. The purpose of writing this report of the issues of the civil war, is to inform the reader to

know a little bit more of it. Also it is very interesting how the medical field has changed since the

civil war. All the research that can be found of this main topic is amazing. It has so much

information of how the doctors during the civil war were in the medical field. An other purpose

to write this report is to let the reader know what kind of medication was used. Also people really

dont have that much information about what were the affects of the medication that was given to

the soldiers for the pain. This report would let the reader know all the information that is needed

to understand how the medical field worked during the civil war. It will also give a major amount

of information of how people viewed the purpose of amputating soldiers. Amputation was a

major thing during then civil war, which we would be talked on the report.
Medication effects during the civil war

Medication affects during the Civil War: A review of literature

In the civil war there were many issues and problems that werent taken seriously during

that time period. During the war many soldiers were losing there lives because the medical field

was not that advance at that time. However, doctors and nurses werent that professional on their

career field as how it is now in days. The research mention that the nurses didnt have to have

any experience the medical field, as well as on being surrounded by many patients with major

cared needed. However, the doctors just really wanted to save as many lifes as they could, so

they really didnt think about any affects or thought of what could happen after the medication

taken. During the war doctors had to do many amputations on the soldiers as needed to save as

many lives that they could. However, for the pain they had to give drugs to the soldiers for the

surgerys. Though those drugs had affects on the soldiers. On this literature review it would have

more research information that would help to understand the main information of what really

happen during the civil war. For these reasons this review has three questions that help gain and

have more information about this review:

1. How did the amputations made a difference in the civil war?

2. How did the civil war change the modern medicine?
3. Why is the medicine given to the soldiers an important issue?

These questions will narrow the purpose of the literature review by giving a better detail on the

background and on the conflict of the affects of the medication during the civil war.

How did the amputation made a difference in the Civil War?

During the civil war there were many theories of what was the difference in the

amputations. Many people thought that there was no cause or reasons why doctors didnt have

any precaution on the medical field. However, the amputations was one of the best surgery that

was preformed on the soldiers to save many many lifes during the civil war. In the article of A
Medication effects during the civil war

Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure has a quote that mention A chance to cut is a chance to cure

its an old surgical saying. This saying gives a great amount of information of how the no matter

how much they cut at the same time they were saving millions of lives. Robert E. Mallin also

mentions on his article of how amputations were not just only saving lifes but they were the

most successful type of surgery. Robert also research that today amputation has had many

different benefits from the early methods done during the war, also of what the medical field has

learned from the procedures done then. Amputation has really made a big difference from the

civil war to today.

There has been a major advance on the surgerys that are done today as how they were

done during the war. The article of Life is Better Than Limb, explains how amputation saved

many lives. Many people really dont know that it all depend on were the cutting was performed,

which could have a higher percent of dying or could be save. In the article they mention that the

amputations started before they were performed in the war. The amputations were performed far

back as 2000 BC in Mesopotamia. Which in result the amputations were practices way before the

civil war began. According to the official Union records, as many as 75 percent of all

amputations were successful. During the war many people who were involved in the medical

field didnt have that much experience on any type of surgery. In the article they mention that

more than half of the doctors who worked in the civil war didnt have any experience on

amputating people to save there lives. Amputation were the most successful surgery during that

period that saved many soldiers lives.

How did the civil war change modern medicine?

The the civil war had many problems which made a dramatically change in the medicine

from that period to todays modern medicine. During the war doctors and people who worked in
Medication effects during the civil war

the medical field had many different strategies. However today we dont exactly use those same

strategies for several reasons. Some reasons may be because the type of tools that they used

wasnt as advance as how its today. In the article of Jennifer Latson she explains that all the

bloody situations that were going on at the civil war made a changed in the medicine of today. In

the article of How a Bloody Civil War Battle Changed Modern Medicine mentions that at the

beginning of the war the union army had only 100 doctors and there were no ambulance corps.

However today there are millions of doctors and nurses who have experience on the medical

field. During the war the medical field was not precautious on having a safe and sanitized field.

During that time the medical field didnt care on having doctors or even nurses with experience,

they just wanted people to go to the civil war and save as many soldiers as they could. The

change during the civil war made the medicine to change as of today.

Why is the medicine given to the soldiers an important issue?

In the civil war there were so many amputations during that time. However, an

amputation was a surgery that hurt very much and gave much pain that they had to use a

medication for the pain. The medicine that was given to the soldiers was anesthesia and

chloroform which had affects after the use of those specific drug pains. In the article of

Anesthesia Advances During the Civil War wrote by Laura Cutter gives us a better understanding

of both of those specific medicine that were given for the pain. The anesthesia made it possible

for the surgery to be performed on the patient which brought to save many lives. In the article it

mentions that they determined that chloroform was used at least 80,000 times on patients.

However, there were only 37 deaths were attributed to chloroform in a surgery. The Union and

the confederate army surgeons chose chloroform to be the anesthetic agent for their choice. Army

Surgeon B.B. Breed wrote on the field of battle chloroform is the safe and preferable agent.
Medication effects during the civil war

Throughout the civil war chloroform was constantly used for each and every surgery on the

soldiers. Chloroform made an impact on the medicine field which brought to save more lives

during the war.

Figure 1. The picture shows how the surgeries were performed during the civil war.
Retrieved from
http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=07ebabfc-5f14-4565-
be3e-c396e851ed15%40sessionmgr4008&vid=1&hid=4207

Conclusion
After the civil war there have been so many changes. There have been changes in the way

the medicine field works and how modern with the years has changed. The medicine of those

years are still with the medical field of today, but they are more precautious with the effects that

could cause a overdose on any drug pain. Also the civil war made it possible to save as many

lives during the war as possible. There were so many lives saved because of the surgeries that

were performed on the soldiers. In the civil war they also researched and learned that chloroform

was the best pain killer for the amputations that were taken during the war. Many people may not
Medication effects during the civil war

know the truth about the medical field during the civil war, but with this literature review it

would give a better understanding of what really happen during the civil war.

References:

Cutter, L. (2014, December). Anesthesia Advances During the Civil War. Retrieved from
http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=a2e7bd6e-150b-4147-b6d9-
Medication effects during the civil war

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Latson, J. (2014, September 18). How a Bloody Civil War Battle Changed Modern Medicine.
Retrieved from http://time.com/3329412/antietam/

Trammell, J. (2009, January). Life Is Better Than Limb. Retrieved from http://0-
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Mallin, R. (2012, July-August). A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure. Retrieved from http://0-
web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=14&sid=78d4591d-537f-47d7-
a6334b2eac76f68a
%40sessionmgr4006&hid=4101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=
78296835&db=a9h

Hasegawa, G. (2003, December). The Confederate Medical Laboratories. Retrieved from

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Figg, L. (1993). Amputation in the Civil War: Physical and Social Dimentions. Journal of the
history of medicine and allied sciences, 48(4), 454.

George, P. (2005, February). Tools of the Surgeons Trade. Retrieved from http://0-
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