The development of blood transfusion: the contributions of Norman Bethune in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Although the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) has been the focus of many papers in many countries, there are few references concerning medicine during this war, and many of the related events and medical progress are not well known. Some of these events came to influence civilian and military medicine. Among these were advances in blood transfusion, in which the Canadian surgeon, Norman Bethune, played an important role, particularly in advocating transfusion of blood to soldiers at the front rather than at medical centres behind the lines. While much of Bethune's work, especially in Canada and China, is well known, 1-3 certain aspects of Bethune's work and his stay in Spain are worth reviewing.