Surgery and War: The Discussions About the Usefulness of War for Medical Progress

Abstract

The relationship between war and surgery, or medicine in general, is often pictured as beneficial. The abundance of wounded soldiers and civilians, thus the idea goes, would result in the perfection of surgeons’ practical skills as well as technical innovation. However, a critical exploration makes it clear that this relationship is not as obvious as its looks. The conditions of war are, for example, normally detrimental to technical and scientific progress. Most important and durable medical innovations have their origins in peacetime not in war. The widespread claim that war is good for surgery, as this chapter argues, seems to be born out of a longing to give a positive meaning to the participation of doctors in war.