Development of medical care for the wounded, sick and injured in military conflicts of the past and present

Abstract

The reflects the process of formation and development of medical care systems for the wounded, sick and injured in military conflicts, from ancient times to the present. The following issues are covered: the organization of treatment of the wounded and sick and their evacuation in the armies of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the European armies of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Moscow State, the Russian Empire, the USSR and the Russian Federation. The main factors that influence the approaches to the organization of medical support for troops (forces) in wars of the past and the present are revealed, namely: dependence on the specific conditions of the combat situation and methods of conducting combat operations; from the views of the military and political leadership on the role and place of medical service in the army; on the level of development of weapons and military equipment; on the availability of ways and means of medical evacuation; on the level of development of medical science and technology. The contribution of domestic scientists to the improvement of the medical support system for the troops (forces) was noted: the creation of V.А. Oppel theory of staged treatment of the wounded and its final design under the guidance of E.I. Smirnov (1941-1945) as a system of staged treatment of the wounded with evacuation for the intended purpose. Based on the experience of medical support of troops (forces) in the course of military conflicts of the late XX early XXI centuries. Revealed modern trends in the development of this system in the modern army of Russia. It was concluded that the systems for treating the wounded «on the spot», the drainage system, the scattering system of the wounded and sick, and the system of staged treatment with evacuation for the intended purpose can exist in parallel and be used depending on the specific conditions of the combat situation.