Notes on the wounded from the mutiny in India : with a description of the preparations of gunshot injuries contained in the museum of Fort Pitt / by George Williamson.

  • Williamson, George, 1819-1865.
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on the wounded from the mutiny in India : with a description of the preparations of gunshot injuries contained in the museum of Fort Pitt / by George Williamson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    uncommon for Indian wars, but certainly very much so for European wars, as far as records enable me to make the com- parison. This difference in favour of results by Indian wars I believe to be mainly due to the facilities afforded by the dooley for the successful treatment of this severest of all forms of com- pound fracture. 11 cases recovered, with good, useful limbs, out of the total wounded landed from India—viz., 743, or 1'49 per cent. This is a large proportion compared with the result of the Crimean war, viz., 8 out of 2290; or 0*34 per cent. Medical officers who have served in India are, I believe, unanimous in opinion, that there is no means of transit for sick and wounded equal to the dooley ; and should this be admitted by the public and the Government, there seems no reason why our Indian subjects should not furnish us with a supply of doolies and bearers in all our wars out of India. That such a means of transport would be expensive, must be ad- mitted ; but probably not so very much more expensive than the means usually supplied. The difference would not, I be- lieve, be grudged by the public, who would find their satisfac- tion in the more favourable results amongst the severer classes of cases of invalided wounded arriving at the Depot. Advantage has been taken of the valuable preparations on this subject contained in the Museum of the Army Medical Department, to illustrate these notes. The specimens have been carefully described, and the history of the cases detailed as fully as possible, and several lithographic drawings have also been inserted. This, it is hoped, may be of some use, as in- forming the profession of what preparations of gunshot and other injuries received in action the Museum at Fort Pitt contains.