War Surgery 1914–18

by Thomas Scotland (Editor), Steven Heys

“A most interesting book, both from a World War I historical perspective and from the major changes in medicine that are so well outlined.” —British Journal of Surgery   The First World War resulted in appalling wounds that quickly became grossly infected. The medical profession had to rapidly modify its clinical practice to deal with the major problems presented by overwhelming sepsis. Besides risk of infection, there were many other issues to be addressed including casualty evacuation, anesthesia, the use of X-rays, and how to deal with disfiguring wounds—plastic surgery in its infancy. This book focuses closely on the human aspects of the surgery of warfare, and how developments in the understanding of combat injuries occurred.   Ten essays covering a wide variety of topics, including the evacuation of casualties; anesthesia, shock, and resuscitation; pathology; X-rays; orthopedic wounds; abdominal wounds; chest wounds; wounds of the skull and brain; and the development of plastic surgery. All material is supported by an extensive number of figures, tables, and images.   Those with a passion for the history of this period, even if they have no medical training, will find fascinating information about those surgeons who worked in Casualty Clearing Stations between 1914 and 1918—and laid the foundations for modern war surgery as practiced today.

Genres: Nonfiction, World War I, Medicine

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Drka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous resource, have quoted from it many times.

[Jon Wort · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, very carefully constructed into readable chapters on various specialties in treating WW1 casualties and how the Medical Services demonstrated a clear learning organisation advancing medical knowledge and some of the most horrific injuries.
The book is a must to anyone wanting to understand that the FWW was won by the integration of all aspects of military and society. This book helps to dispel the myth of ‘Lions led by Donkeys’, by clearly elucidating that much change was driven by innovative Generals. They were supported by some brilliant, and gifted, medical personnel, Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses, et al.
Tom Scotland does an excellent job encapsulating how medical services improved throughout the war and how many lives were saved through innovation and learning.
I would strongly recommend this book to all.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely phantastic book! This walks you through every procedure, military and surgical, a wounded soldier went through. It discusses, at important depth but never above the heads of laypeople, all the relevant procedures, operations, consequences, chances and decisions.

An absolutely invaluable resource--recommended for everyone who wants to know what happened on the medical end of the Great War!

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book which really outlines the challenges facing the Royal Army Medical Corps 1914 - 1918. The detail is just at the right level for the lay reader to understand. We owe a lot to these doctors who pushed the discipline forward and pioneered many of the life saving techniques with which we are familiar today.