Definition: the application of medicine in a military setting for the benefit of the military. The earliest battlefield injuries would yield cuts from swords, penetrating wounds from arrows, broken bones from blunt weapons and head injuries from rocks hurled from slings. Dealing with the same types of wounds gave physicians an opportunity to experiment.

GREEK MEDICAL TECHNIQUESALEXANDER THE GREAT’S MEDICAL CORPS  Greek battlefield medicine included rituals performed by shamans and priests.  Other treatments included applying honey and salt mixtures to wounds.  During Battle of Troy, Greeks suffered 147 battlefield injuries. 81% died.  Lack of anatomical awareness made surgery ineffective (autopsies were illegal)  Greeks did devise herbal remedy for clotting wounds.  Hippocrates  When all else fails, pray….  First military leader to attach physicians to troop formations.  Introduced tourniquet to battlefield  Overall, considered a step back from river-valley medical techniques

 Indian military medics created original plastic surgeon techniques (although none included plastic)  Specialized in rhinoplasties  Developed surgeries for over 130 occurrences.

 First society to remove wounded from battlefield and place in a designated area for rehabilitation.  Physicals were first encouraged  Sanitation was controlled to prevent further disease  Mosquito netting  All regimes had a battlefield surgeon that had to successfully pass through an academy.  Once attached, surgeon followed troops into battle, provided forward care, bandaged and sent to designated care site.  Unlike the Greeks, Romans were able to consistently stop bleeding thus allowing for amputations.  New surgical instruments could extract arrowheads.  Strong wine (almost vinegar) applied to wounds to kill infections.  Drugs were used as pain-killers and sedatives before surg.

 Decline of Roman Empire led to centuries few military medicine advancements.  Poor personal hygiene led to spread of Plague.  Crusades taught Europeans to sterilize devices.  Infections were introduced to wounds as a way to strengthen the recovery process. Had opposite effect.

 By the 16 th century, projectiles were used in battle.  Often loaded with steel balls, rocks, metal, glass, nails, etc.  Wounds changed, compound fractures increased, larger number of nonfatal injuries.  Tremendous spread of infection, primary death on battlefield.

 Witnessed French soldiers killing wounded comrades.  Wrote The Method of Curing Wounds Caused by Arquebus and Firearms.  When wounds passed through limbs, amputation.  Surgeons nicknamed “sawbones”.  Exposed tissue cauterized with a red hot iron.  Did not stop bleeding, patients died of shock.  First to research “phantom pain”.

 Jean Louis Petit invents screw tourniquet to control bleeding.  Surgeons improved prosthesis  Specialized instruments for removing musket balls introduced by still not sterilized.  Wound dressings, alcohol and turpentine used to treat minor wounds.  Debridement technique established. (Cutting away infected tissue)  Flying Ambulances brought to battle.  Horse drawn carriages for wounded.