232 Miracles Ahead! 



the physician can examine hidden injuries. It permits a physi- 

 cian to locate a bullet, shell fragments, bits of masonry, and 

 other foreign bodies within a minute after the wounded man 

 is placed under the machine. 



The soldier usually remains at the battalion aid station a 

 day or less and then is taken by ambulance jeep, or other con- 

 veyance, back to the collecting station, which also is mobile 

 and can be brought up near the front lines. Here a complete 

 record of the injury is made, with recommendations of the 

 doctors who have examined and treated the soldier. 



From the collecting stations the more seriously wounded 

 are evacuated to field hospitals or evacuation hospitals. These 

 are usually five to seven miles back of the battle line. But, as 

 they are highly mobile, they can be brought up to the front. 

 They travel on six wheels, can move rapidly over soft or 

 rough ground, and are ready for instant use. These units have 

 the most modern medical and surgical equipment and are 

 staffed by expert surgeons, including specialists for all kinds 

 of injuries. Compound fractures (in which bones are broken 

 and flesh also is torn) are cleaned, sprinkled with sulfa drugs, 

 and the leg or arm is then encased in plaster. 



The "Closed Treatment" for Fractures 



This revolutionary "closed treatment" of fractures was de- 

 veloped by two surgeons who did not like the old method of 

 dressing the wound draining it and constantly washing it 

 with antiseptics. The method worked but not often enough 

 to suit them. One of these surgeons was Winnett Orr, an 

 American. As a military surgeon with the American Army in 

 France during the first World War, Orr had the problem o 

 bringing home many men with compound fractures. He de- 

 cided to use plaster casts to protect them on the rough voyage 

 home. 



