The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-08

War means battles and battles mean
wounds. and all the dictates of hui
manity and expediency require that
these wounds shall receive prompt and
efficient surgical attendance" said
Lieutenant Colonel Brown of the sur
geon generals staff, in speaking of the
work Of his department in the present
war; For the past two months our
department has been as busy as every
other branch of the army and navy in
preparing for actual hostilities. At
present the work is we'll in hand. In
addition to the regular force of army
surgeons a large number of volunteer
enlistmentS have been placed on file,
enough in all probability to meet every
requirements Most of these have come
from young surgeons who have recently
completed their training in the big city
hospitals. and who are as well equipped
for this kind of work as anybody who
has not received special training in
military surgery can be. A cornpre-
hensive plan of field work has been
drawn up, and it is not likely that there
will be any hitch in this branch of the
service.
FIELD SURGERY.
I'm laying it's plans for field work
the surgical department has some en-
tirely new problems to face with prac-
tically no experience to guide IL. since
the most recent war OF any extent be-
tween two civilized nations there have
been two revolutions which will have
marked effect on field surgery. One of
these has taken place in the science
of surgery itself, by the introduction
and general application of antiseptic
principles. The other has been in the
character of the weapons employed IN
warfare. The small steel projectiles
used in modern army rifles inflicts a
different sort of wound from the Old
style bullet. AS to the exact effect OF
this change in the style of weapon en-
ployed there has been no practical dem
onstration, but some reasonably accu-
rate guesses may be made.
I'm the first place, greater velocity,
greater penetration. greater rapidity of
fire and the use of smokeleSS powder,
should mean a large number OF men
hit in the course of an engagement. OF
those who are hit, probably larger
proportion will be killed outright. or
will die before aid can reach them. The
new style bullet will make a clean cut
wound more favorable to internal hem
orrhage, or to immediate death if q vi
tai part is touched. But of those who
survive to reach the hospital OF to re-
ceiVe surgical attendance, "a greater
number should recover. The very fact
that a wound is clear-cut instead of
ragged makes it easier to dress, and
the penetrating power of the new pro-
iectiles make it less likely that bullets
or parts of bullets will remain lodged
inside a mans body. The improve
ments in surgery should likewise have
an influence in increasing the proper
ton of recoverieS.
while these possibilities are inter-
esting. there are other considerations
of more immediate Importance. Mod
ern army rifles have a much longer
range than the guns employed, say in
the civil war. This makes it inevitable
that a modern engagement will be
fought with more extended lines than
were previous conflicts. and that the
hospital dressing station, which must
necessarily be out of firing range, will
be further removed from the line of
battle. 1t may take one or two battles
to decide certain of these matters, but
the general plan for field hospital work
is already arranged and will be follow
ed out according to the directions of
the surgeon general
HOSPITAL CORPS.