Nursing, history, and orthopedics in manuals (1875-1928).

OBJECTIVES: to discuss the content of manuals, with emphasis on orthopedics, in support of the development of nursing care culture. METHODS: cultural-historical method articulated with document analysis technique. The sources were nursing manuals - Portuguese, French, English, and Spanish - from 1875 to 1928. RESULTS: this study pointed to 12 works - 6 authored by physicians, 2 by nurses, 3 institutional, and 1 by a Sister of Charity - that presented, in a transversal way, the professionalization process initiated in Europe. The manuals addressed first aid care and immobilization methods, from the simplest, such as improvised splints, to the application of plaster casts. CONCLUSIONS: the nurses' work, even in a limited capacity, showed that they were able to observe warning signs so that doctors could act, with some exceptions.

[Industrial first aid equipment: a historical analysis (1840-1914) ]. / Gli strumenti di pronto soccorso in azienda: un'analisi storica (1840-1914).

Even if references to the tools required to intervene after an accident can be found in the works of Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) or Johann Peter Frank (1745-1821), it was only with the development of industrial manufacturing that the need to study means to prevent and intervene in cases of accident became evident. In October 1894 the III Congrés International des Accidents du Travail et des Assurances Sociales was held in Milan. The following year, the Milanese trade union movement acknowledged the necessity to address the problem of industrial accidents. In 1896 the Association for Medical Assistance in  Industrial Accidents was founded in Milan. A specific medical institute was set up, appropriate first aid tools were collected and first aid rooms in the main Milanese factories were inaugurated. Nevertheless, few data seem to be available regarding the manufacture and use of this equipment in industry. We analyzed more than fifty catalogs of European industrial products, between 1843 and 1914, to study the evolution of first aid equipment for industrial use. They reflect and attest to the evolution of medicine and surgery, although some models seem to be related to certain industrial categories (railways, electrical appliances), some were similar to ordinary first aid boxes, others were strictly related to surgery; some could only be used by physicians, and others only by workers. Identification, conservation, and reappraisal of these tools is essential for historians of occupational health because these objects were normally not preserved. The catalogues of industrial production are also precious sources, since they are rarely preserved in public libraries and deserve to be used for historical studies.

To cool or not to cool: evolution of the treatment of burns in the 18th century.

The 18th century represents a transitional period in evolution of surgery and burn treatment, a time just before major advances such as asepsis, burn excision and skin grafting, were to revolutionise surgical practice. The medical minds of this era first began to question the centuries of dogma and speculation that were at the heart of medicine. The evolution of the treatment of burns in this crucial time is reviewed from the perspective of two of the exceptional medical minds of that era John Hunter and James Earle. Many of their observations are still valid today and their influence would prove inspirational in ushering in modern era of burn management.

[The humanitarian work of France in the Sahara. The Health Service of the army in the territories of Southern Algeria (1900-1976]. / L'oeuvre humanitaire de la France au Sahara. Le Service de Santé des armées dans les Territoires du Sud algérien (1900 - 1976).

Medical assistance to the Saharian populations (1900-1976) is viewed through its organization. The management of the Health Service in the Southern Territories, doctors, nursing staff, medical districts, centred on infirmary-hospitals and rural first-aid posts. We insist on the everrising free consultations and the care to sick and wounded patients in infirmaries; the fight against epidemics and social scourges. Then on French medical mission from 1963 to 1976, and on the humanitarian work by the Health Service throughout the five continents.

Historical review of emergency tourniquet use to stop bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Although a common first aid topic, emergency tourniquets to stop bleeding are controversial because there is little experience on which to guide use. Absent an adequate historical analysis, we have researched development of emergency tourniquets from antiquity to the present. METHODS: We selected sources emphasizing historical development of tourniquets from books and databases such as PubMed. RESULTS: The history of the emergency tourniquet is long and disjointed, mainly written by hospital surgeons with little accounting, until recently, of the needs of forward medics near the point injury. Many investigators often are unaware of the breadth of the tourniquet's history and voice opinions based on anecdotal observations. CONCLUSIONS: Reporting the historical development of tourniquet use allowed us to recognize disparate problems investigators discuss but do not recognize, such as venous tourniquet use. We relate past observations with recent observations for use by subsequent investigators.

Changing concepts of life-saving procedures in 19th century Polish popular first-aid publications.

Throughout Europe, before the era of health insurance, access to professional medical help in an emergency was limited, for the vast majority of people, especially for those living outside big cities. This did not improve in the nineteenth century, even though the number of physicians grew rapidly. The industrial revolution added a range of previously unknown threats and, with the dramatic rise in population, many more people could not afford medical help. Therefore, the need for popular, easy-to-understand instructions on first aid became urgent. In Poland, such publications were especially needed because of the country's political situation, which resulted in restricted access to university medical education. During the nineteenth century, approximately 50 works on first aid were published in Polish, with almost 90% addressed to non-physicians. Evaluation of the contents of these books and the instructions which they contained gives a good insight into the evolution that first aid concepts underwent in the nineteenth century. These range from changes in the most urgent threats (from epidemic disorders to industrial accidents and combat injuries) and the accelerating development of medical knowledge (especially the asepsis / antisepsis concept), to the changing spectrum of readers (with growing numbers of those who could read but were otherwise poorly educated).