Battlefield medicine

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An illustration showing a variety of wounds from the Feldbuch der Wundarznei (Field manual for the treatment of wounds) by Hans von Gersdorff, (1517).

Battlefield medicine is the treatment of soldiers in or near an area of combat. Medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were developed in order to treat the wounds inflicted during combat.

Among the notable medical advances made on the battlefield:

• The practice of Triage, by Baron Dominique Jean Larrey during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Advances in surgery - especially amputation, during the Napoleonic Wars.
• The first practical method for transporting blood, by Norman Bethune during the Spanish Civil War.
• Ambulances or dedicated vehicles for the purpose of carrying injured persons
• The extension of emergency medicine to prehospital settings through the use of emergency medical technicians
• The use of helicopters as ambulances, or MEDEVACs

See also

• Medical corps
• Combat medic
• History of medicine
• Timeline of medicine and medical technology

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