The value of war for medicine: questions and considerations concerning an often endorsed proposition

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship, often claimed as beneficial, between war and advances in medicine and surgery. Some of the conflicting opinions that have been expressed are discussed. Military medicine in general is conservative and non-innovative. Some medical advances have indeed originated in war, but many other efforts were failures and are forgotten. The application of others is limited to their particular time and place, while some would have been made sooner or later in any case. In additon, the basic objective of military medicine is to maintain the strength of the fighting force rather than to help the individual, and some doctors have indeed been involved in developing means of destruction.

Editorial

“…We do not pretend to know if Edwin Starr's words, sung in 1969, 'War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing', have universal and eternal truth, but it cannot be stated strongly enough that medicine does not serve as proof to the contrary (Van Bergen 2007.…”

Introducción. La transfusión de sangre en España: tecnologías médicas y retos sociales (1909-1943)

“…Existe cierta discrepancia, sin embargo, en cuanto al efecto de los conflictos bélicos sobre el conocimiento científico. Mientras algunos autores alegan que lo estimulan (Ruiz-Castell, 2015), otros argumentan que las guerras no favorecen el progreso científico, sino solamente sus aplicaciones ( Van Bergen, 2007). Y hacemos referencia explícita a la guerra porque el escenario de gran parte de las contribuciones de este monográfico es la Guerra Civil Española, en concreto el bando republicano.…”