Describe the amputation as the most common treatment during the Civil War

The most common treatment during the Civil War was the amputations of limbs. Amputations were necessitated by the fact that Minnie Ball (which was the most common weapon), left gaping wounds, destroyed muscles, tissues and arteries and splintered bones beyond reasonable repair. Even where resection of the limbs was an option, doctors did not have much time to perform such procedures due to the high number of people in the queue waiting to be amputated on. Amputations were also necessitated by the high prevalence of gangrene. Civil war doctors lacked an understanding of a gangrene infection and they usually used amputation as the best way of stemming the infection from spreading further. Pain during amputations was nabbed using chloroform, ether or a combination of both.

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Academic.Tips. "Describe the amputation as the most common treatment during the Civil War." April 22, 2020. https://academic.tips/question/describe-the-amputation-as-the-most-common-treatment-during-the-civil-war/.

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