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, also called field surgery or combat casualty care, 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. With the advent of advanced procedures and medical technology, even polytrauma can be survivable in modern wars. Credit(s): Hans von Gersdorff, Feldbuch der Wundarznei, 1517 Source: Images from the History of Medicine This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Credit(s): Hans von Gersdorff, Feldbuch der Wundarznei, 1517 Source: Images from the History of Medicine This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Year 1517 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... This article is about a military rank. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Polytrauma is used to describe the condition of a person who has been subjected to multiple traumatic injuries, such as a serious head injury AND a serious burn. ...

Among the notable medical advances made on the battlefield:

• The practice of Triage, by Dominique Jean Larrey during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Advances in surgery - especially amputation, during the Napoleonic Wars and first world war on the battlefield of the Somme.
• 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 establishment of fully equipped and mobile field hospitals such as the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and its successor, the Combat Support Hospital.
• The use of helicopters as ambulances, or MEDEVACs.

The term "Meatball surgery" is a term used in battlefield medicine to refer to surgery that is meant to be performed rapidly to stabilize the patient as quickly as possible. Typical triage tag used for emergency mass casualty decontamination. ... Dominique Jean Larrey, portrait by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, beginning of 19th century. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... “Surgeon” redirects here. ... Partial hand amputation Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... For other battles known as Battle of the Somme, see Battle of the Somme (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Blood (disambiguation). ... Dr. Norman Bethune 1922 Henry Norman Bethune, MD (March 3, 1890 – November 12, 1939) was a Canadian physician, medical innovator, and humanitarian. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ... An ambulance in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Star of Life, a global symbol for medical service EMTs loading an injured skier into an ambulance An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is an emergency responder trained to provide emergency medical services to the critically ill and injured. ... 47th Combat Support Hospital, 2000 A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities. ... The Mobile Army Surgical hospital (MASH) refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. ... A Combat Support Hospital (CSH) is a United States military mobile hospital delivered to the Corps Support Area in standard military-owned Demountable Containers (MILVAN) cargo containers and assembled by the staff into a tent hospital to treat wounded soldiers. ... A [PC-12] of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. ...

See also

• Jonathan Letterman, the "Father of Battlefield Medicine"
• Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov, the "Founder of Field Surgery"
• Military medicine
• Medical corps
• Combat medic
• History of medicine
• Polytrauma
• Timeline of medicine and medical technology
• Textbook of Military Medicine

Jonathan Letterman Jonathan K. Letterman was an American surgeon credited as being the originator of the modern methods for medical organization in armies. ... Portrait of Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov by Ilya Yefimovich Repin, 1881 Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Russian: ) (November 13 (N.S. November 25), 1810–November 23 (N.S. December 5), 1881) was a prominent Russian scientist, doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Medical Corps may refer to: Medical Corps (United States Army), a branch of the US Army Medical Department Navy Medical Corps, a staff corps of the US Navy Royal Army Medical Corps, a specialist corps of the Army Medical Services of the British Army Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, part... Medical team at work during the Battle of Normandy. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Polytrauma is used to describe the condition of a person who has been subjected to multiple traumatic injuries, such as a serious head injury AND a serious burn. ... Timeline of medicine and medical technology // c. ... The Textbook of Military Medicine (TMM) is a series of volumes on military medicine published since 1989 by the Borden Institute, of the Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army. ...

External links

• Battlefield Medicine - The Ancient World 2000 BC-AD 500
• Emergency War Surgery (2004), 3rd U.S. revision, Washington, DC: The Borden Institute.