Civil War Medicine Vocabulary
- Amputation:A surgical operation used to remove an arm, leg, or other extremity. It was the most common operation in the Civil War.
- Anesthesia:A drug used to make patients unconscious before surgery.
- Chloroform:The most common anesthesia used in the Civil War.
- Dysentery:A disease of the intestines which caused severe diarrhea. Dysentery was common among soldiers and thousands died from it during the war.
- Ligature:Tying of the ends of blood vessels in the body to stop bleeding. Wire or silk thread was used to tie off the veins or arteries.
- Minie Ball:The bullet fired from rifles during the Civil War. It was very large, and made of soft lead. Minie Balls did a great deal of damage to the human body.
- Morphine:A very powerful pain-killing drug used during the Civil War.
- Scalpel:A small, sharp knife used by surgeons to cut through the skin and other soft tissue.
- Styptics:Drugs which absorb blood and stop bleeding.
- Sutures:Silk thread stitches used to sew up wounds.
- Tourniquet:A device which wraps around an arm or leg and is tightened to control bleeding.
- Typhoid Fever:A very deadly disease caused by bad food and water. Typhoid Fever killed thousands of soldiers during the war.
- Courtesy of U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service.
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