Combat casualty care and surgical progress.

The book of Revelation describes the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse, conquest, death, famine, and war as the hardships that human kind must endure before the end of the world.1 The hardships of war have been evident throughout history and are now illustrated for us at least twice a day on the morning and evening news. Not so obvious have been the benefits derived from surgical experience during war, or the benefits derived from the application of new knowledge and new technology to the treatment of combat casualties. These benefits have been most conspicuous in the realm of wound care, the recorded history of which begins by best estimate 3605 years ago.

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