Plymouth Medical Society

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Plymouth Medical Societys Historic collection

• Advances in medicine as demonstrated through
  military references.

The above image belongs to Ian Visits and is
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
3.0 license.
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Aim

• This resource aims to introduce new users to the
  collection. Through references and quotes from
  the material within the collection the resource
  hopes to demonstrate how the development and
  deployment of the military has brought about
  medical advances.
• The resource is not a comprehensive record of
  quotes and references, nor is it meant to be, but
  is a starting point for those interested in the
  military and its influence on medical practice.

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About the collection

• The collection is currently housed within The
  Discovery Library inside Derriford hospital and
  is available to be viewed upon request.
• The heritage lottery fund has allowed for the
  safe storage of the collection. The collection
  contains archives, handwritten records and notes
  alongside the printed volumes.
• Parts of the collection have been digitised and
  can be accessed through the collections website.

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Who the Resource is aimed at

• This resource is aimed at historians and
  scholars who have an interest in the military and
  in medicine.
• The resource could also be of interest to the
  general public particularly those interested in
  the history of medicine or the military. It might
  also appeal to those interested in the history of
  Plymouth.
• It might also be relevant to students and
  teachers of the GCSE history of medicine unit as
  the developments of hospital cleanliness during
  the Crimean war and the work of Florence
  Nightingale are mentioned.

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Introduction

• Plymouth has a long and proud military history,
  much of which is still visible today.
• The citys coat of arms contains four towers
  which represent the fortifications built in the
  Tudor and Elizabethan eras. Two of the towers
  remain today at Sutton Pool and Mount Batten. The
  towers were built to protect the city after
  attacks during the 100 year wars with France. The
  city also suffered heavily during the second
  world war.
• The most famous resident of Plymouth was Sir
  Francis Drake who was Vice Admiral of the Royal
  Navy, and much of the city bears his name. The
  military links continue today with the Devonport
  Naval base and local marine bases playing a large
  part in the citys economy. Military medicine
  also has a strong history within the city.
• The Royal Navy in 1792 built their model hospital
  in Plymouth and although it is no longer in
  operation, Plymouths main hospital Derriford is
  one of just five Ministry of Defence Hospital
  Units around the UK. It is for this reason that I
  believe it is fitting that these historical links
  continue to be celebrated.

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Occupational medicine

• Occupational medicine was defined in 1950 by the
  World Health Organisation Committee as
  ..placing and maintenance of a worker in an
  occupational environment adapted to his
  physiological and psychological equipment and, to
  summarise, the adaptation of work to people and
  of each person to their job.
• Quote from the collection
• The preservation of health of soldiers, in the
  field and in quarters, is attained by a certain
  extent, by rigid observance of those forms of
  discipline and economy which are under the
  direction and surveillance of military officers.
  Care in these hands goes far in prevention.
• Robert Jackson in A view of the formation,
  discipline and economy of armies 1845.

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Occupational medicine
Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Jackson, Robert (1845) A view of the formation discipline and economy of armies Talking about keeping the army fit and working out levels of endurance. Quality and selection of military recruits pg 3paragraph 2ln 20.
Jackson, Robert (1845) Same as above Talking about the active selection of recruits and fitness helps to reduce susceptibility to disease. Selection of recruits peculiarities according to race pg 6paragraph 2 ln 29.
Jackson, Robert (1845) Same as above Active selection and recruiting using medicals to try and prevent problems. The nails of the great toe and sometimes prevented with difficulty from growing into the flesh this ought to be looked into in the surgical examination of the recruit, for it is often a great inconvenience to the soldier. Selection of the recruits pg 22 paragraph 2 ln 32.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Bell, John (1795) Discourses the Nature and cure of wounds. Describes the importance of having a medical service accompanying sailors Chapter 2 On wounded arteries pg 158 ln 1.
Nightingale, Florence (1859) Notes on hospitals being two papers read before the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, at Liverpool, in October 1858 with evidence given to the Royal Commissioners on the State of the Army in 1857. But multiply3.9 by 52 2028 in order to get the annual admission per 1000 and it will be found that the whole force will go through the hospital in a year at that rate. And multiply 14.3 by 52 7436 per 1000 per annum and the whole force will go seven times through hospital a year. Evidence given before the Royal Commission pg 33 paragraph 8 ln 1-5.
Nightingale, Florence (1859) Same as above. At home the guards and the infantry of the line suffer more from consumption and chest diseases than men in civil life, at the same ages from all diseases put together. Evidence given before the Royal Commission pg 35paragraph 8 ln 1-3.
Nightingale, Florence (1859) Same as above. Talking about selecting the healthiest personnel for the army and discharging those unfit for the job. Evidence given before the Royal Commission pg 36/37 paragraphs 4-8.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Nightingale, Florence (1859) Same as above. This quote talks about the need to develop a medical service for the forces. Evidence before the Royal Commission pg 65 paragraph 2 ln 4-18.
Geddes, William (1846) Clinical illustrations of the diseases of India as exhibited in the medical history of a body of European soldiers for the a series of years from their arrival in that country The regulations and discipline of military life afford opportunities for accuracy of observation and record in the diseases of soldiers not generally found in civil society. Preface Paragraph 1 ln 1-4.
Geddes, William (1846) Same as above. Annual statistics of admissions to hospital, and number of sick days lost per annum to the forces Pg 74 paragraph 2 ln 1-10.
Guthrie, Douglas (1945) A history of medicine. In 1782 Pringle published Observations on the Diseases of an Army he made suggestions for the better ventilation of barracks, jails and hospitals, and certain other recommendations which contributed to the comfort and health of the troops. Often it is said of him that few physicians have rendered more definite services to humanity. Xviii century medicine Medicine in the Army and Navy pg 233 paragraph 2 ln 1-8.
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Public Health

• Public health is
• the science and art of preventing disease,
  prolonging life and promoting health through the
  organised efforts and informed choices of
  society, organisations, public and private,
  communities and individuals. (1920 C.E.A.
  Winslow.)
• Quotes from the collection
• Strong drink beyond a very narrow limit,
  intoxication its subject and as intoxication
  extinguishes judgement, errors and not
  unfrequently offences arise under intoxication,
  which when submitted to the decisions of
  courts-martial, are punished with stripes and
  disgrace.
• .. He visited the barracks daily three of four
  times to detect incipit disease.
• Robert Jackson in A view of the discipline and
  economy of armies (1845).

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Public Health
Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Nightingale, Florence (1859) Notes on hospitals being two papers read before the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, at Liverpool, in October 1858 with evidence given to the Royal Commissioners on the State of the Army in 1857. A public health reference to overcrowding and cleanliness of the hospital wards. A reference about importance of diet on health and recovery. Sanitary condition of Hospitals and Hospital construction pg 8 paragraph 3 ln 4-13. Pg 18 paragraph 3 ln 3-9.
Jackson, Robert (1845) A view on the formation, discipline and economy of armies. A quote about the harmful effects of tobacco regretted the contact of our soldiers with the armies of the continent during the war had induced the filthy practice of smoking so extensively among British officers and soldiers. He thought the long use of the plant injurious to health. Quote about the dual capacity of work of an army surgeon more often called on for public health than trauma. Authors distinguished friends pg 1xiii paragraph 2 ln 1-22. Pg 1xii paragraph 1 ln 1.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Jackson, Robert (1845) As above. Quote about the dangers of drinking in the army Part IV Intellectual and moral motives of military action pg314paragraph 1 ln3.
Jackson, Robert (1845) As above. Quotes on the effect of a good diet on health amongst the army. Part V Diet Pg 328 paragraph 2 ln 21. Pg 332 paragraph 2 ln 18. Pg 332 paragraph 2 ln 21.
Jackson, Robert (1845) As above. Quotes talking about the importance of proper accommodation on health. If barracks be injudiciously placed or badly constructed, health suffers. If health suffers and life lost from the occupation of causes which arise from bad position or faulty construction of the soldiers dwelling, the military department is responsible for the loss of life without necessity. Part V Economy for the field and quarters Barracks pg 361 paragraph 2 ln 14 Pg 365 paragraph 7 ln 2.
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Mental health

• Mental Health is not only the absence of a
  recognised mental disorder or disability but a
  state of well-being.
• Quotes from the collection
• A mention of a disease similar to shell-shock.
  it often happens that when a man is shot, he is
  overtaken with an awful trembling and disorder of
  the nervous system, that the bravest cannot
  resist it, and the most acute physiologist cannot
  tell whether it is a disorder of the mind or a
  tumult of the mind.
• John Bell in Discourses the Nature and cure of
  wounds.

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Mental Health
Author and Date Title Description Page number and location
Bell, John (1795) Discourses the Nature and cure of wounds. This quote is the one above which mentions the psychological impact of a gun-shot wound and battle. Chapter 3 pg 162 ln 12.
Bell, John (1795) As above. This quote describes battle shock which renders soldiers mute. Chapter 3 pg 168-170 ln 4.
Yelland, Lewis R (1918) Hysterical Disorders of warfare. A quote on mutism and paraplegia within soldiers. Sounds very similar to a modern stroke, but was classified as a nervous disorder. Pg1 paragraph 2 ln 11.
Yelland, Lewis R (1918) Hysterical Disorders of warfare. A reference to a disorder sounding similar to Post-traumatic stress disorder. .and when I saw him he was mute and in a severe nervous condition, any sudden noise causing him to start. Pg 15 paragraph 2 ln 22.
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Advances in medical Practice

• Wars have brought about many advances in medical
  practice and the severity of injuries inflicted
  soldiers increases the pressure to save them
  stimulates the rapid development of new
  techniques like the novel haemostats used during
  current conflicts and development of the
  transfusion service during World War 2.
• Quote from the collection
• War, which brings sorrow and suffering,
  becoming more and more dreadful on each occasion,
  is nevertheless not without its compensations.
  The battlefield has always been a training ground
  for surgeons, and in recent years war has
  provided opportunities for vast experiments in
  public hygiene and national health which could
  not have been carried out during the years of
  peace. Maj-gen R.M. Downes in What medicine
  owes to war, and war owes to medicine RAMC 1936.

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Advances in medical practice
Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Lattimore, Margaret (1980) The medical library of the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth 1825-1900 a checklist of extant items currently held in the Medical Library, Royal Naval Hospital Plymouth with notes on the early history and organisation of the Library A series of quotes about the setting up of hospitals and acquiring resources during times of war. Although prior to this there are many references to a hospital for sick and wounded seamen during the century preceding the foundation of RNHP, it appears to have been temporary nature, set up in times of war. From about 1875 the rate of acquisitions seems to have declined rapidly, and was preserved but not exploited until the advent of the Second World War brought on urgent need for medical information, particularly new surgical techniques. Introduction pg 5 paragraph 1 ln 1-8. Introduction pg 6 paragraph 3 ln 7-13.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Butcher, Richard G (1868). On gunshot wounds and their treatment Cases of gunshot wounds with a description of the treatment that he feels with be of interest to civil and military surgeons alike Pg 3 Paragraph 1 ln 1-11.
Butcher, Richard G (1868). Same as above This quote describes how civil surgeons are just as capable at dealing with gunshot wounds as military surgeons if they see the volume of violence and trauma necessary to develop competence. Pg 23 Paragraph 2 ln 10-25.
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). A history of medicine. The following quotes talk about the development of a cure for scurvy In such a situation, the ignorant sailor and learned physician will equally long, with the most craving anxiety, for green vegetables and the fresh fruits of the earth, from whose healing virtues relief only can be had. So wrote James Lind in his book, A Treatise of Scurvy 1753, one of the most interesting and important works in medical literature. Xviii Century Medicine Medicine in the Army and Navy pg 233-234 Paragraph 3 ln 8-25.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above. Lord Anson had lost seventy five per cent of his ships company from scurvy during his voyage round the world. It was the scourge of the Navy, and Lind often had three hundred - four hundred cases in his wards at Haslar. He knew nothing of vitamins, but he recommended the use of lemon juice , and made other suggestions to improve the health of seamen. Thanks to his efforts, scurvy disappeared as if by magic. Continued from above.
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above. Talking about the developments that war brings. Chapter Xviii Military and Naval Surgery conquest of tropical diseases pg 337 Paragraph 1 ln 1-6.
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above Quotes on the following Military surgeons as the first surgeons Development of the treatment of fractures from amputation on pg 339 to the use of Malaignes hooks. Chapter Xviii Military and Naval Surgery conquest of tropical diseases. Pg 337 Paragraph 2 ln 1-3. Pg 340 leading on from 339 Paragraph 3 ln 4-8.
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Author and date Title Description Page number and location
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above. Talking about how distinguished civil surgeons used to spend time on the battlefield to master their craft. Chapter as above pg 337-338 ln 3-5.
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above. Talking about the setting up of the first eye infirmary. Military surgeons founding modern plastic surgery Development of first aid and pressure dressings Chapter as above pg 342. Pg 342-343 paragraph 3 ln 1-7. Pg 343
Guthrie, Douglas (1945). Same as above. Facilities for blood transfusion were organised on a large scale. The sulphonamide treatment of septic infection, medical and surgical, the closed plaster method of treating compound fractures, the application of psychological tests in the assessment of fitness for service, the discovery of penicillin these are only a few of the advances in medical science which have appeared in time of war, and which it is hoped will soon be adapted to the needs of peace. Chapter as above pg 350 paragraph 2 ln 12-19.
Bell, John (1795) Discourses the Nature and cure of wounds. Quotes about how great a learning environment the battlefield is especially for trauma and gunshot wounds. Chapter 2 pg 126 ln 22. Chapter 2 pg 138 ln 1. Chapter 3 pg 162 ln 2.
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Conclusions

• This resource has quotes from 8 sources within
  the collection and has hopefully provided a taste
  of the knowledge contained within the collection.