Introduction

Medicine in the civil war:

• battle wounds
• diseases that spread in camp
• spread by air--eg. colds, measles
• spread by bad sanitation
• diseases spread by insects--malaria, yellow fever
• none of this was known at the time, the germ theory of disease was not yet established at the time of the civil war
• theory of humours--imbalance in the body
• miasma theory--disease is caused by bad air (swamps, sewage)
• what do you do if a family member is sick
• doctors took dramatic action to restore balance--remove blood by bloodletting or leeches, give compounds like mercury that cause diarrhea or vomiting
• when people got well it was because of the body's ability to heal itself, supported by good food, rest, warmth--at home usually provided by women
• how do you provide care on a large scale in war