Rodway George W
University of Utah, College of Nursing and School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2012 Jun;23(2):165-9. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2011.10.007.
The surgeons of the navies of the early days of western civilization--Greece, Rome, and the Italian city-states--were most likely the first practitioners of recognizable wilderness medicine. The teachings of Hippocrates and Galen ruled over the practice of medicine in Europe for centuries, but the steady evolution of understanding of the nature and causes of disease was starting to provide a useful foundation upon which to build by the turn of the 19th century. By 1800, nonetheless, the gap between medical theory and knowledge and the real ability to provide effective therapy was still enormous. However, the discovery of anesthesia in the 1840s and Joseph Lister's elucidation and application of the principles of asepsis in 1865 were major steps forward in the history of medicine. Many other improvements in civilian medical care relevant to wilderness medicine, though, have come about as a direct result of military medicine having to determine how to best keep people alive and well, often in very trying combat-related circumstances. The advancement of wilderness medicine has been closely connected to military exploration/operations throughout history, and not surprisingly, this remains in many ways as true today as it was a thousand years ago.
西方文明早期——希腊、罗马和意大利城邦——海军的外科医生很可能是最早可识别的野外医学从业者。几个世纪以来，希波克拉底和盖伦的学说主导着欧洲的医学实践，但到19世纪之交，对疾病本质和病因的认识不断演变，开始为医学发展提供有用的基础。然而，到1800年，医学理论与知识和提供有效治疗的实际能力之间的差距仍然巨大。不过，19世纪40年代麻醉术的发现以及1865年约瑟夫·李斯特对无菌原则的阐明和应用是医学史上的重大进步。然而，民用医疗保健中许多与野外医学相关的其他改进，是军事医学在通常非常艰难的与战斗相关的情况下，必须确定如何最好地让人们存活并保持健康的直接结果。纵观历史，野外医学的发展一直与军事探索/行动紧密相连，毫不奇怪，在许多方面，如今的情况与一千年前并无二致。
