Bullets and Bacilli: The Spanish-American War and Military Medicine (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: national assembly camps, military radiology, antityphoid inoculation, Spanish-American War, Civil War, Medical Department (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Cirillo has written an entertaining and informative account of a very important story -- Dale C. Smith, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Medical History, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Product Description

For each soldier killed in combat during the Spanish-American War, more than seven died from diseases such as typhoid fever and malaria—a rate higher than that of the Civil War. During a time of rapid medical innovation and discovery, why did these soldiers perish so needlessly?

Bullets and Bacilli is the first book to focus primarily on military medicine during this conflict. The historian Vincent J. Cirillo argues that a universal element of military culture stifled medical progress. The Spanish-American War gave army medical officers an opportunity to introduce new medical technologies to the battlefield, including the X-ray, aseptic surgery, and sanitary systems derived from germ theory. With few exceptions, however, their recommendations for preventive health measures were almost completely ignored. Scientific knowledge in itself was not sufficient to implement much-needed medical improvements; putting these ideas into military practice also required the cooperation of line officers and volunteer soldiers, as well as a restructuring of military education.

The influence of military experiences on the history of American medicine is often overlooked. Cirillo shows how preventable deaths during the Spanish-American War led to reforms that continue to save the lives of both soldiers and civilians to the present day.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (October 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813533392
• ISBN-13: 978-0813533391
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,851,688 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)