Miscellaneous Head Wounds, and such.

Nov 10, 2009 16:57

 
Let me tell you of medicine in the American Civil War... and interesting things hiding about at the University of Alberta.

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histories, daguerreotypes and other photography, scholarly pursuits, arms and legs everywhere!, 1800s, oh those crazy americans, zombies

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anyjen November 12 2009, 03:59:02 UTC
It was a German book, written in either the 15th century or the 1500s (I forget which)... and it was bound in human skin.

Wow. Talk about creepy.

Okay, so this chart looks pretty boring at first glance. But look at the values. Look at "sprains". Three people died from sprains. Also, nine from dislocations, but I picture something to do with your neck getting dislocated or something.

...is there a White Troops/Colored Troops distinction in that chart? O_o

...well at least they were listing them. Goodness knows we didn't in our Independence wars... and the teritorial disputes afterwards. The few there were (my country was never very big on slavery; most of the slaves that reached South America went to the sugar and cotton plantations in what is now Brazil), were sent to the front lines. They were apparently promised freedom if they survived the wars... something which very, very few managed. -_ ( ... )

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beboots November 12 2009, 20:38:55 UTC
Yep, there were two collumns: one for "white" and one for "colored" troops. It would be interesting to see if there was a higher death to injuries ration in the right collumn than in the left (probably ( ... )

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anyjen November 15 2009, 00:23:19 UTC
It would be interesting to see if there was a higher death to injuries ration in the right collumn than in the left (probably).That's what I was thinking, even if it would have been rather depressing to confirm ( ... )

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beboots November 15 2009, 01:29:36 UTC
I remember one of the interesting things we learned about had to do with childbirth. We ended up reading a description of a typical birth in the early 1800s in America - birth at home, obviously (it's a natural part of life - you only call the doctor if something goes WRONG and god forbid you're so poor you have to go to the hospital, no, that's for paupers). It was a party type atmosphere: ladies catching up with each other, drinking beer, even, distracting the lady in labour. Also, she was held upright. When someone asked, "well, why isn't she in bed?" The answer is: gravity. Lying down means you're pushing against gravity, instead of with it. In the 1930s onwards, obstatricians would literally strap ladies to their hospital beds, legs open... which is great for the doctor's comfort, but not the lady's.

... I'm glad things have changed, a little bit, towards the earlier ideas, sometimes... Because one of the questions asked is, "What place does a male doctor have in the birthing room?"

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