The Division of Surgery classified the sur geons in the Medical Reserve Corps— continu ing the code card system begun by the General Medical Board of the Council of National De fense — trained them in special schools, assigned them to posts and distributed instruments and supplies at such posts. Military surgery was largely revolutionized during the war. Wounds were thoroughly operated upon as soon as pos sible after a man was hit, all lacerations and surrounding flesh being cut away and the dan ger of infection by tetanus or gas gangrene bacilli reduced to a minimum. Owing to mod ern methods of sterilizing infected wounds, of the wounded who survived six hours, 90 per cent recovered ; of those who reached field hospitals 95 per cent recovered; and of those who arrived at base hospitals 98 per cent re covered. Paraffin compounds found favor with many surgeons as dressings for burns and scalds. The subdivision of military orthopedic surgery dealt with the correction of deformities resulting from wounds and injuries, and sup plied standardized splints, artificial limbs and similar appliances. This section paid particular attention to soldiers' feet and the shoes they wore and took measures to prevent and cure "trench feet," insisting upon properly drained trenches and prescribing loose, comfortable foot and leg wear and nightly washing and greasing the feet (clean socks in abundance). Under its supervision were orthopedic work-shops for making plaster casts, artificial limbs, splints and other supplies incident to the correction of de formities.
The Division of Special Hospitals and Phys ical Reconstruction became of greater and greater importance as the war progressed. In addition to the separate hospitals for the tuber culous and insane, special provision was made for groups of medical and surgical injuries, the blind and the deaf.
The Division of Surgery of the Head included four sections: ophthalmology, otolaryngology, plastic and oral surgery, and brain surgery. This division supervised the selection, classifi cation and intensive training of medical re serve officers in brain surgery, specialized sur gery of the mouth and jaw, and eye and throat. It standardized instruments and material and selected optical equipment for use at the front. Those in charge of this division were instru mental in perfecting methods for making artifi cial eyes to take the place of those previously made in Germany and were also responsible for devising excellent types of goggles for aviators. This division published a monthly magazine, Survey of Head Surgery, containing articles and abstracts of articles calculated to he of value and interest to military surgeons. Through the close teamwork of the oral sur geon, dental surgeon and dentist comprising each unit at the front, many unusual operations were performed during the war, in the repair inn of portions of the face and jaw of men injured in battle, new features and jaws being supplied by the experts in plastic and dental surgery.
In general, the purpose of reconstruction was to return the injured man to complete or partial military duty or to his former occupa tion in civil life, or to train him anew in a cura tive workshop. This work of reconstruction in the American army was on a comprehensive scale. Individual study of each injured soldier was made and his repair attempted according to his best °social worth?) No man was dis charged from the army until every possibility i had been exhausted to put him back in the best physical condition. Massage and various elec trical appliances and mechanical devices were used in convalescence, to restore muscular movement in limbs and extremities, and artifi cial limbs were employed enabling the mutilated man to use all manner of tools and implements and to perform the daily functions of civilized life. The Division of Physical Reconstruction edited and the American Red Cross published a monthly magazine, Carry On, relating to phases of this important work.
The Division of Hospitals planned and or ganized all army hospitals, convalescent camps, depots and hospital trains, supplying all their personnel including specialists in surgery, medi cine, bacteriology, epidemics, heart, head, nerves, feet and the more prevalent and dangerous diseases. Up to the entrance of the United
States into the war, there were only seven army hospitals aside from post hospitals, these seven having a bed capacity of 3,843. Including the army post hospitals, the bed capacity was about 5,000. A survey of prospective needs led to requests for 86.472 beds and of these there were ready in March 1918, 48,632, and hospitals with capacity of 29,140 were under Hospital requirements in the United States when 4,000,000 soldiers were expected in France were estimated at 200,000 beds by then Gen. Robert E. Noble of the surgeon-generars staff in late September.
The hospitals in the United States were of three types: (a) receiving hospitals at ports of debarkation, which are filled and emptied rap idly; (b) base hospitals, of which there were 44, including 32 at National Army and National Guard camps; and (c) general hospitals. Of the total of 79 hospitals established. 29 were equipped to care for more than 1,000 patients each, and 17 to accommodate 2,000 each.
The sending of large forces to France neces sitated the establishment of a great medical and hospital organization under the medical of ficer on the staff of the general commanding the port of embarkation. This medical department, with headquarters in Hoboken. N. J., had jurisdiction over operations on the Atlantic coast from Canada to Florida and had on 31 July 1918, 33 medical department organizations, with 529 officers, 110 contract surgeons, 342 nurses, 2,649 enlisted men and 65 civilians. The divisions included those on personnel, corre spondence, dental service, history and statis tics, sanitary inspection, property, finance. transport supply, transport, transportation (with seven hospital trains and 23 ambulances), trans atlantic transport service, medical detachment overseas casualty camp, sick and wounded. medical supply depots, nurses' mobilizing sta tions, ateending surgeons, laboratory (for pathological, bacteriological, chemical and mi croscopical examinations and analyses), hos pital building and domiciliary hospital (ir charge of convalescent hospitals in private homes, with capacity of from two to SO pa tients each and a total of 1,200 patients) in addition to the hospitals. The 13 hospitals had 12,500 beds, of which 11,000 were ready for occupancy on 1 Oct. 19I8. A man found sick in a unit about to go across was quickly sent to an embarkation hospital; when he re covered he went as a casual and probably was placed in a unit other than that to which he originally belonged. Embarkation Hospital Na 1, at Hoboken, had 763 bed capacity; No. 2, for scarlet fever, mumps and measles, was at Secaucus, N. j.; and No. 3, for communicable diseases, off Hoffman's Island, had 694 beds. On the Columbia University oval, Williams bridge, New York City, was General Hospital No. 1, with 1,100 bed capacity; United States Auxiliary Hospital No. 1 (Rockefeller Demon stration Hospital, for demonstrations and carry ing on scientific investigations), was at 66th street and Avenue A, New York City, and it had 150 beds; Port Newark Terminal, N. J. had a post hospital with 30 beds; the base hos pital at Camp Merritt, Tenafly, N. J., had 1,846 beds; the base hospital at Camp Mills, Long Island, had 1,506 beds, and the hospital at Schiitzen Park, N. J., was planned for At the debarkation hospitals the patients were sorted and sent to various special hospitals. sanatoria, restoration clinics or convalescent homes, throughout the United States. The de barkation hospitals were: No. 1, Ellis Island. 1,075 beds; No. 2, Fox Hills, Staten Island 1,762 beds; No. 3 (Greenhut Department Store) Sixth avenue and 18th street, New York City, !,814 beds; No. 4, Long Beach, L. I., 1,800 beds, ind No. 5, the Grand Central Palace, Lexington avenue, 46th and 47th streets, New York City, rented for $385,000 yearly, with 3,300 beds.