Contributions relating to the causation and prevention of disease, and to camp diseases : together with a report of the diseases, etc., among the prisoners at Andersonville, Ga. / edited by Austin Flint.

Date:
1867
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Contributions relating to the causation and prevention of disease, and to camp diseases : together with a report of the diseases, etc., among the prisoners at Andersonville, Ga. / edited by Austin Flint. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    39/704 (page 7)
    Perfection of the senses is essential. The organs of special sense should not only he free from disease, but they should have that ready appreciation of their appropriate stimuli, which is a proof of the healthy activity of the central nervous system. The functions of all the organs should be so well performed that the happy balance between waste and supply should be maintained. Besides these physical requirements, there are certain mental states favorable, and certain others unfavorable, to the proper per- formance of military service. The soldier should possess a cheerful disposition, a calm temper, and that indifference to danger and fatigue which is more frequently the result of mental forces than physical strength. We assume that the recruit submitted to the usual inspection conforms to the standard as set forth in the preceding Causes in paragraphs. The question then occurs, What causes 'Acting''fe arising in his previous life and experiences may affect his stiimma- physical stamina, independently of the new conditions to which he is subjected immediately on enlistment ? These causes may include certain hereditary diseases, as insanity, epilepsy, scrofula, and tuberculosis; and such acquired cachexias as the chronic mal- arial poisoning, masturbation, chronic alcoholismus, and incipient disease of important organs. Although not recognizable on ordi- nary examination, these conditions may yet exist in sufficient degree to be readily excited by ordinary causes into well-defined morbid processes. The operation of these occult causes of disease in recruits ante- cedent to enlistment is shown in the following statistics : In 15,500 discharges on surgeon's certificate, as examined by me at the War Department, there were 154 for mental infirmities, 841 for epi- lepsy, 411 for various cachexias, 44 for bad moral character, and 3593 for diseases of the chest. A large majority of these were either hereditary, or existed in modified form at the time of enlist- ment. Many of the causes affecting the physical stamina of the recruit previous to enlistment might have been recognized by proper care and diligence in the examination. The neglect to examine men in the beojnnino; of the war, and the lack of thoroughness in the examinations afterward, increased the number of men serving, but diminished the relative efficiency. The statistics bearing on this point are quite conclusive. Thus, in 15,500 discharges, there were 388 for disqualifications due to age, and 209 for natm*al feebleness of constitution, both of which are recognized without difficulty.