War and medicine: a hateful strict relationship

Abstract

We propose an historical consideration on the deep relationship between war and medicine. War and medicine are strongly connected and the link dates back to the dawn of time. Many medical advances and key developments in healthcare has been driven by war, which in turn impacts on health and healthcare. Governments fund military research and researchers develop new technologies, some of which may be suitable for medical applications. Techniques, materials and equipment�s proven to be safe and effective in wartime have made valuable contributions to medicine in peacetime. We provide some brief historical details about triage, chemotherapy, mobile X-ray units and vascular surgery, which have all been developed in the battlefield.