Medicine Ch 15

Doctors had very little knowledge of medicine during the Civil War. Doctors used puss to help prevent wounds which in their case thought it worked. There was very little medical attention on the battle field. Two days was usually the time period that you had to wait until your wound could be treated because of the number of injured.Hand washing was usually not done before an operation and the tools were not always very sanitary if even washed at all. Amputations were the most common way of getting rid of infections. Anestesia was one of the major Medical advances during the Civil War as well as Amputations and even closing chest and other wounds. Soldiers endured amputees, gunshot wounds, and also infected limbs. A soldier from the North had a 1 in 8 chance of dying from illness and a 1 in 18 chance of dying during battle. A southern Soldier had a 1 in 5 chance of dying from disease and a 1 in 8 chance of dying while in battle. Hospitals could be in churches, barns, tents, some buildings and even wagons. Tents were for portable hospitals right next to the battlefield. Transportation was also need for the wounded.