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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Perspectives on history: Army dietitians in the European, North African, and Mediterranean theaters of operation in World War II.

World War II necessitated the mobilization of hundreds of dietitians to serve in military hospitals in the United States and in theaters of war all over the globe. Although initially military dietitians had civilian status, on December 22, 1942, Congress passed Public Law 828, which authorized military status for Army dietitians with relative rank in the Medical Department for the duration of the war and 6 months thereafter. This article chronicles the role of Army dietitians who supported the allied troops in military hospitals in England, Europe, and North Africa during World War II. Recollections of military dietitians who served in the war are included to illustrate the circumstances under which these professionals lived and the dedication with which they worked.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed2006

Vaccine innovation: lessons from World War II.

World War II marked a watershed in the history of vaccine development as the military, in collaboration with academia and industry, achieved unprecedented levels of innovation in response to war-enhanced disease threats such as influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia. In the 1940s alone, wartime programs contributed to the development of new or significantly improved vaccines for 10 of the 28 vaccine-preventable diseases identified in the 20th century. This article examines the historical significance of military organizations and national security concerns for vaccine development in the United States.

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice↗
PubMed2005

Combat science: the emergence of Operational Research in World War II.

World War II became known as the "wizard war" because the cycles of developing countermeasures and counter-countermeasures to the weapons deployed by all sides drove rapid technological change. However, technological innovation was not the only contribution scientists made to the war effort. Through Operational Research (OR)--the scientific scrutiny of new weapons, their deployment and relative efficiency--scientists also influenced how warfare itself was conducted. This new scientific field emerged in the UK, where it helped to tighten the defense against the Luftwaffe. It quickly spread to other aspects of the military machine, improving both antisubmarine campaigns and bombing strategy. But although this analytical approach to warfare offered military commanders a factual basis on which to base difficult decisions and deal with tactical and strategic uncertainty, it was not without controversy. Indeed, several recommendations that came out of OR sparked disputes over the allocation of resources and strategic priorities.

Aircraft↗
PubMed1998

Field block for cranial surgery in World War II.

During World War II, physicians with minimal training were often thrust into the role of anesthetist. To educate these men, experts in anesthesia taught simple, conservative, and effective anesthetic techniques, such as the field block. Field blocks are the ideal "no frills" anesthetic because they are low-risk procedures that require minimal equipment. Unfortunately, many of the field blocks used during World War II are no longer taught. We present one technique that has fallen from favor, the field block for cranial surgery, both to educate about anesthesiology during World War II and to provide knowledge for the practicing military physician. The modern military anesthesiologist must be capable of anesthetizing patients under any conditions. First response care teams may find the technique of field block for cranial surgery useful in providing emergency anesthesia care.

Anesthesia, Conduction↗
PubMed2004

Hugh Cairns (1896-1952) and the mobile neurosurgical units of World War II.

In World War II, Hugh Cairns, Oxford Nuffield Professor of Surgery and brigadier in the Royal Army Medical Corps, designed and administered the mobile neurosurgical units that treated casualties with head injuries in the various campaigns fought by the British Army. Cairns also created the Combined Services Hospital for Head Injuries at St Hugh's College, Oxford, where the staff of the units were trained and where evacuated casualties were received. The excellent outcome of the head-injured in World War II and the impetus to the expansion of neurosurgery in the UK during and after that war were, in large measure, due to Cairns. Others had knowledge of neurosurgery but Cairns inspired surgeons, neurologists and nursing sisters to perform neurosurgery at the highest level on the battlefield.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed2006

Waking up to shell shock: psychiatry in the US military during World War II.

During World War I, military officers encountered a new and puzzling phenomenon: soldiers emerged from the trenches stuttering, crying, trembling and at times were even paralysed and blind. Those in charge were convinced these soldiers were cowards or malingerers who deserved stern discipline or to be court-martialled. A number of physicians, by contrast, initially assumed that these alarming symptoms resulted from close exposure to explosions and called it shell shock. Later, they realized that it was a psychological reaction and came up with psychotherapeutic treatments. But it was only in World War II that military psychiatrists, particularly those in the USA, began to implement treatment methods for this phenomenon in a systematic way. Their thinking and the treatments they devised had significant consequences for the future of American psychiatry, which in turn influenced the development of psychiatry and military psychiatry world-wide.

Combat Disorders↗
PubMed2005

[Historical study of moth repellent, "Fujisawa Camphor" (6) - manufacturing and selling of "Fujisawa Camphor" during World War II.].

During World War II, the amount of camphor production did not decrease, since it was used for munitions. At that time, camphor was not use for moth repellents, are not a life supporting necessity. The factory that took charge of camphor production was busy producing medicine for military use. Due to the war, an abnormal situation in the factory arose when the procurement department requested supplementation because of reinforcement of a lack of materials. Additionally, in the home, the use of moth repellent for clothing was not a concern. Of importance where was ensuring sufficient food to survive. The supply of "Fujisawa Camphor" for home use started in the post-war days, 1947.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

A historical account of the "wet lung of trauma" and the introduction of intermittent positive-pressure oxygen therapy in world war II.

During World War II, my associates and I observed for the first time in medical history that casualties with severe brain, thoracic, abdominal, and extremity trauma, who had persistent "wet" respiration (wet lung of trauma), were most difficult to resuscitate, withstood operation poorly, and had the highest mortality. The etiology appeared to be ineffectual cough and persistent bronchopulmonary fluid from hemorrhage, pulmonary transudates resulting from anoxia, airway obstruction, and unknown causes secondary to trauma, some of which have been discovered since then. Our treatment consisted of assisting cough, transnasal tracheobronchial aspiration and oxygenation, bronchoscopy, and tracheostomy. To treat the advanced form, pulmonary edema, I devised an effectual hand-operated intermittent positive-pressure oxygen machine, which has been supplanted by elegant automatic volume- and pressure-regulated devices. Through the use of the intermittent positive-pressure breathing machines, most hospitals have developed thriving departments of respiratory therapy. Better physiological monitoring and use of intermittent mandatory ventilation and positive end-expiratory pressure have improved the care, but our basic principles of treatment are still the standards of respiratory therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Medical care for interned enemy aliens: a role for the US Public Health Service in World War II.

During World War II, the US Public Health Service (USPHS) administered health care to 19 000 enemy aliens and Axis merchant seamen interned by the Justice Department through its branch, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Geneva Prisoners of War Convention of 1929, which the United States applied to civilian internees, provided guidelines for belligerent nations regarding humanitarian treatment of prisoners of war, including for their health. The INS forged an agreement with the USPHS to meet these guidelines for the German, Italian, and Japanese internees and, in some cases, their families. Chronic shortages and crowded camps continuously challenged USPHS administrators. Nevertheless, the USPHS offered universal access to care and provided treatment often exceeding care received by many American citizens.

Altruism↗
PubMed2005

[Verification for reform of the Japanese pharmaceutical education by some organizations in 60 years, after World War II].

After World War II, the Japanese pharmaceutical education system was drastically changed on the advice of the general headquarters of the American occupational army. Two universities and 18 colleges were reformed in to new universities. Graduates from pharmaceutical universities were eligible to take the national pharmacist's license examination, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. New pharmaceutical departments within a university could be founded provided that they conformed to stringent standards set by the Ministry of Education, covering such aspects as location, building facilities, equipment, teaching administration, number of teachers and qualifications, and curriculum. From 1949 to 1983, seven national, three public and 31 private universities with pharmaceutical departments were established. Three departments, pharmacy, manufacturing pharmacy, and biological pharmacy, are present in several pharmaceutical universities. The number of students attending university pharmaceutical departments increased from 4,000 in 1940 to 8,000 in 1983. In 1973, the Japan Pharmaceutical Association proposed a six-year pharmaceutical education system. However, the Council of Deans of in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at the national university and the Ministry of Education were opposed. The plans to reform pharmaceutical education were thrown into confusion from 1983 to 1990. The Six Members Council for pharmaceutical education (Rokushakon), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Welfare, the Japan Pharmaceutical Association, the Japan Hospital Pharmaceutical Association, the Council of Deans in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at the national university, and the Association of Private Pharmaceutical Universities was reformed in 1999, and then the council carried out debate into 2004. The Six Members Council arrived at an agreement that requires six years of pharmaceutical educations, including six months of the practical pharmacy expensece in a hospital pharmacy or health insurance pharmacy, in 2003. Finally in 2004, the laws for school education and the laws for becoming a pharmacist were amended in the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. The authors expess their opinions about pharmaceutical education, pharmacists, and the pharmaceutical industry in the second decade of the 21st century.

Education, Pharmacy↗
PubMed2002

Breast cancer incidence in food- vs non-food-producing areas in Norway: possible beneficial effects of World War II.

It has been suggested that World War II influenced breast cancer risk among Norwegian women by affecting adolescent growth. Diet changed substantially during the war, and the reduction in energy intake was assumed to be larger in non-food-producing than in food-producing municipalities. In the present study, we have looked at the influence of residential history in areas with and without food production on the incidence of breast cancer in a population-based cohort study consisting of 597,906 women aged between 30 and 64 years. The study included 7311 cases of breast cancer, diagnosed between 1964 and 1992. The risk estimates were calculated using a Poisson regression model. The results suggest that residential history may influence the risk of breast cancer, where the suggested advantageous effect of World War II seems to be larger in non-food-producing than in food-producing areas. Breast cancer incidence was observed to decline for the post-war cohorts, which is discussed in relation to diet.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Follow-up studies of World War II and Korean war prisoners. II. Morbidity, disability, and maladjustments.

US Army veterans taken prisoner (POW's) in World War II and in the Korean War are compared with controls as to hospital admissions from 1946 to 1965 (1954-1965 for Korean War POW's), and as to symptoms, disability, and maladjustments in 1966-1967. Sequelae of the POW experience are both somatic and psychiatric, and are of greatest extent and severity among Pacific World War II POW's. Among European World War II POW's only psychiatric sequelae are apparent. Somatic sequelae were most prevalent in the early years after liberation, but for Pacific World War II POW's they persist in the form of higher hospital admission rates for many specific causes in the most recent period. Nevertheless, persistent psychiatric sequelae (especially psychoneurosis but also schizophrenia) are the more notable and pervasive for both Pacific World War II POW's and Korean War POW's as seen not only in elevated hospital admission rates but also in VA disability awards and in symptoms reported on the cornell Medical Index Health Questionnaire. The excess morbidity appears to correlate well with retrospective accounts of weight-loss and nutritional deficiency diseases and symptoms during the POW period.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Aviation pioneers: World War II air evacuation nurses.

During World War II, nurses pioneered a new role for women in the skies. This study of the 1942-1944 Movietonews, the largest of the U.S. newsreel companies with international syndication, identified the exploits of these nurses, compared personal accounts and highlighted flight nurses' contributions to the profession, society, and aviation.

Aviation↗
PubMed1984

Japanese responses to the defeat in World War II.

To learn about the defeat in World War II was a most intense shock to the Japanese. Various psychological responses developed, and some committed suicide. Defense mechanisms such as denial, negation, isolation, rationalization, intellectualization, and regression were observed. The conditions of the occupation were instrumental in letting the Japanese identify with the Occupation Forces in general and General MacArthur in particular, and identification with the aggressor soon became the most important defense mechanism to deal with the shock of the defeat. To learn about the defeat in a war is to be placed in an extreme condition which cannot be created experimentally. The crisis is extraordinary and the shock is immense. Furthermore, it is not a small number of people who are in such a condition; the residents is the defeated country offer a very unusual opportunity for understanding human beings in large numbers in a state of an intense shock. The purpose of this paper is to examine Japanese reactions and responses upon learning about the defeat in World War II in 1945.

Defense Mechanisms↗