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Chapter 1 - History of Military Field Hospitals

from Section 1 - History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2020

By
Eran Dolev
Edited by
Elhanan Bar-On ,
Kobi Peleg  and
Yitshak Kreiss
Elhanan Bar-On
Affiliation:
The Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Kobi Peleg
Affiliation:
National Center for Trauma & Emergency Medicine Research, The Gertner Institute for Health Policy and Epidemiology and Tel-Aviv University, Disaster Medicine Department
Yitshak Kreiss
Affiliation:
Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
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Summary

The idea of the field hospital was conceived independently in several armies, during different times, as a response to the medical needs of troops serving in remote areas. At first, its goal was to care for sick soldiers. Then, parallel to various developments in medicine, especially surgery, its cardinal mission turned tosaving lives and preventing disabilities in battle casualties. The main virtues of the field hospital have always been its mobility and the ability of its team to resuscitate and operate on battle casualties, near the front line. On the other hand, its inherent vices are its vulnerability under enemy’s fire and its inability to hold operated patients for adequate periods of time. Yet, the field hospital is a keystone of the chain of medical responsibility on the battlefield. The history of the military field hospital is, to a large extent, the history of military medicine, reflecting the symbiosis between surgical treatment and medical evacuation.

Keywords

Battle casualtieshistory of military medicineresuscitationmedical evacuationmedical echelonswound surgery
Type
Chapter
Information
Field Hospitals
A Comprehensive Guide to Preparation and Operation
 , pp. 1 - 11
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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