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Medicine In The Civil War Essay

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Diseases affected the Civil War doctors, types, and the medicine used. Doctors and medicine affected the evolution of progressing diseases that Americans have. Also, the diseases helped make some of the most important medicine used in the Civil War and today. Civil War diseases affected the growth of modern day medicine in American and all around the world.
First, doctors in the Civil War affected the war in many drastic ways. In total, there were about 13,000 Union and 4,000 Confederate doctors. However, more than 4,000 women served as nurses because they wanted to serve their country, support antislavery cause, pity for suffering men, and a chance to work. One of the most well- known nurse was Clara Burton, also known as the “Angle of …show more content…

The North camps were poor and were made up of strangers who did not know much about the medical side of war. However, the South was more advanced in medicine, but they had less resources. According to Intisar K. Hamidullah, “with the advancement of medicine, treatment, prevention, and vaccinations the impacts of these diseases are not as harmful today as during the Civil War..” This quote showcases the advancements of medicines in the United States. Some of the common medicines were anesthesia, chloroform, and sulfuric ether. Anesthesia was used for amputations and hurt very badly. Ether was a combinations of alcohol and sulfuric acid and was common anesthetic during the war. A shot of whiskey also helped to deaden the pain of a soldier being operated on (The Civil War Society, PAGE NUMBER). Amputations were one of the most common procedure because of the terribles diseases that spread throughput bodies. Medicine helped cure some disease, but not all. Many diseases spread from soldiers being unsanitary, which lead to the process of medicine. There were not a lot of advancements made, as said in the article “Medicine in the Civil War.” During the 1860’s, doctors had yet developed bacteriology and were generally ignorant of the causes of disease. In conclusion, diseases in the Civil War impacted the growth of American doctors, types of disease, and medicine. These factors changed

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