Volume 34, Number 7
April 2013
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society Inside this issue: Cover story: April program: Medical Myths & Misconceptions of the American Civil War Letter from our president, page 2
Medical Myths & Misconceptions of the American Civil War Thursday, April 11, 2013, 7 pm Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum By Julian Kuz, MD and Bradley Bengtson, MD. Presented by Dr. Kuz Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table
Local history roundtable, page 3 Letters from home, page 4 Civil War broadsides, page 5 Happening in history, page 6 Photo Sleuth, page 7
War, considered one of the greatest causes of human suffering, inevitably brings rise to some of the greatest advances in medical treatments. The American Civil War is usually written from the perspective of great battles and generals. The medical aspects of the war are frequently unknown or misunderstood. These misunderstandings persist even today. The Civil War was a catalyst for the development of trauma management, including general wound management, amputation techniques, triage and transportation of wounded
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soldiers. The war, by necessity, accelerated surgical knowledge and treatment of gunshot wounds of the extremities more than any previous event. The war also served as the impetus for the eventual specialization of surgical skills, hospital systems, and medical data collection. The Civil War played an especially important role in the development of orthopaedic surgery. This specialization deals with injuries to the skeletal system and associated muscles and ligaments. At the time of the war it was not a recognized specialty in the United States. ...continued on page 3
Next program: Mugging for the Camera: Mug Shot Book 1897-1911, Gina Bivins, President, Grand Rapids Historical Society May 9, 2013 Women’s City Club Cocktails at 6:00 pm Dinner at 6:45 pm
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