mouthporn.net
#minie ball – @biomedicalephemera on Tumblr
Avatar

Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

@biomedicalephemera / biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com

A blog for all biological and medical ephemera, from the age of Abraham through the era of medical quackery and cure-all nostrums. Featuring illustrations, history, and totally useless trivia from the diverse realms of nature and medicine. Buy me a coffee so I can stay up and keep the lights on around here!
Avatar
Avatar

1863. Private Milton E. Wallen, Co. C, 1st Kentucky Cavalry.

Private Wallen was wounded by a Minie ball while in prison. His arm was amputated and was beginning to heal well, but after a week he began to develop hospital gangrene in the amputated stump.

Hospital gangrene was very common back in the days before antiseptic practices. As opposed to the conditions considered to be forms of gangrene today (gas, dry, wet), "hospital gangrene" was largely caused by Clostridium spp., and was quickly fatal. As Clostridium are bacteria that thrive in the lower GI tract, hospitals with poor sanitation (and consequently widespread fecal contamination) have far higher rates of hospital gangrene death.

Source: jstor.org
You are using an unsupported browser and things might not work as intended. Please make sure you're using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.
mouthporn.net