Expedition Medicine (sometimes known as expeditionary medicine) is the field of medicine focusing on providing embedded medical support to an expedition, usually in medically austere or isolated areas. Expedition medicine provides the physical and psychological wellbeing of expedition members before, during, and after an expedition. Expedition medicine may be practiced in support of commercial,

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, and government expeditions. Some medical governing bodies consider expedition medicine as a field within

wilderness medicine Wilderness medicine is a medical specialty concerned with medical care in remote, wilderness and expedition environments. The specialty includes prior planning, public health issues, a number of sub-specialties as well as responding to emergencie ...

, whilst others considered it be a separate discipline. Medicine chest for Antarctic Expedition 1910 Wellcome L0074486

History

Ancient Era

This field of expedition medicine has ancient origins and has been practised almost since the advent of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

expeditions Expedition may refer to: * An exploration, journey, or voyage undertaken by a group of people especially for discovery and scientific research Places * Expedition Island, a park in Green River, Wyoming, US * Expedition Range, a mountain range ...

. Many ancient civilizations embedded medical staff with military units.

Medieval Era

As expedition and merchant crews grew during the later medieval era,

barber surgeons The barber surgeon was one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians. Instead, barbers, who ...

and other medical staff were added to the crew compliment.

Age of Discovery

During the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...

, expedition medicine planning became more integral to explorers on land and sea, especially in the prevention of

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. Many explorers, to include Cristopher Columbus, traveled with

surgeons In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

as part of their crew.

Modern Era

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

provided medical training and equipment to the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

. During the period of American settlement in the early 19th century, expeditionary medicine preparedness and support became standard concerns for

wagon trains ''Wagon Train'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debute ...

. In the late 19th century, the influence of notable medical practitioners like

Friedrich von Esmarch Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch (9 January 1823 – 23 February 1908) was a German surgeon. He developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the ''Deutscher Samariter-Verein'', the predecessor of the ''Deutscher Samariter-Bund''. Life Esm ...

and members of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

pushing for every adult man and woman to be taught the basics of first aid eventually led to institutionalized first-aid courses and standard first-aid kits in the military and eventually in other medically austere locations. During the

Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often ci ...

, spanning from 1895 to 1922, at least eighteen expeditions ventured to the icy continent. These arduous journeys typically lasted between eighteen and thirty months, and the majority included one or two doctors within their ranks. Each of the expeditions led by

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

included two surgeons. Seizo Miisho was the expedition medicine physician and crew member of the

Japanese Antarctic Expedition The Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910–12, in the ship '' Kainan Maru'', was the first such expedition by a non-European nation. It was concurrent with two major Antarctic endeavours led respectively by Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott ...

of 1910–12. Dr. Alistair Mackay, the assistant surgeon on the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907–1909, is known for being the first person (along with

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

and

Edgeworth David Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist, Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Antarctic explorer, and military veteran. He was knighted for his role in World War 1. A hou ...

) to reach the South Magnetic Pole on 16 January 1909. Alistair Forbes Mackay, Dr. Mackay,

, and

at the South Magnetic Pole on 16 January 1909 Michael Phelps Ward was the expedition doctor on the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition, 1953 first ascent of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. Modern advances, such as the use of

remote physiological monitoring Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a technology to enable monitoring of patients outside of conventional clinical settings, such as in the home or in a remote area, which may increase access to care and decrease healthcare delivery costs. RPM invo ...

devices, have allowed expedition medicine providers to monitor and treat medical situations quickly. Dr Sean Hudson co-founder of Expedition & Wilderness Medicine, now known as World Extreme Medicine received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to expedition medicine.

References

External links

{{Emergency medical services Medical emergencies Wilderness medical emergencies Wilderness medicine