Privates on parade: soldiers, medicine and the treatment of inguinal hernias in Georgian England.
Hernias were prevalent among servicemen, typically recruited from amongst the malnourished. Civilian medical practice deemed the rupture incurable, taking a palliative approach. For the military this was unacceptable: wastage rates due to ruptures were high, servicemen were valuable commodities. Examples here are used to illustrate that experimentation was a contentious activity, reliant on the whims of patronage and war-time budgets. Although military hospitals provided a good venue to engage in experimentation it was contested.
Mills
Philip R
PR
D004739:England; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006772:Hospitals, Military / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history*; D036302:Therapeutic Human Experimentation / Q000266:history*; D014340:Trusses