[The evolution of the emergency medical services system - from ancient to modern times]. / Ewolucja systemu ratownictwa medycznego - od starozytnosci do czasów wspólczesnych.

The paper discusses the historical perspective - from ancient to modern times - on the evolution of military medicine and its support during the wars and battles as well as its impact on the development of civilian health care and emergency medical services. Indicated breakthroughs related to conducting military operations and pointed to the visionaries who have developed new paradigms of medical care, including programs designed to assess the health status of patients, treatment in the battlefield, medical transport, anesthesia, surgery and emergency procedures. Highlighted the important role of proper organization and urgent help to victims.

Effect of military conflicts on the formation of emergency medical services systems worldwide.

OBJECTIVES: This article briefly reviews the evolution of medical support during wars and conflicts from ancient to modern times and discusses the effect warfare has had on the development of civilian health care and emergency medical services (EMS). Medical breakthroughs and discoveries made of necessity during military conflicts have developed into new paradigms of medical care, including novel programs of triage and health assessment, emergency battlefield treatment and stabilization, anesthesia, and other surgical and emergency procedures. The critical role of organizations that provide proper emergency care to help the sick and injured both on the battlefield and in the civilian world is also highlighted.

The evolution of damage control surgery.

The philosophy of damage control surgery has developed tremendously over the past 10 years. It has expanded outside the original boundaries of the abdomen and has been applied to all aspects of trauma care, ranging from resuscitation to limb-threatening vascular injuries. In recent years, the US military has taken the concept to a new level by initiating a damage control approach at the point of injury and continuing it through a transcontinental health care system. This article highlights many recent advances in damage control surgery and discusses proper patient selection and the risks associated with this management strategy.

Congresos de la Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias (I): recuerdos y reflexiones de 20 años de actividad institucional / Conferences of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES), Part 1: recollections and reflections on 20 years' labor

El pasado mes de junio se celebró el vigésimo congreso de la Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias (SEMES). Al hilo de esta efemérides, en este artículo, con claros matices intimistas, los tres presidentes que SEMES ha tenido hacemos un repaso a la evolución de nuestra sociedad durante estos últimos 20 años, a los principales hitos conseguidos y a los principales retos para el futuro. A la vez, quiere ser un justo homenaje a todos aquellos quienes con su esfuerzo hicieron posible, no sólo la celebración de esos 20 congresos, sino el crecimiento año tras año de la calidad de los mismos (AU)

The 20th conference of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) was held this past June. On the occasion of this anniversary, the 3 presidents who have led SEMES during these first 20 years of activity offer their personal account of the society's progress, highlighting both achievements and challenges for the future. Well-deserved thanks are given to all those who have contributed to the organization of the societys' meetings and to their ever-growing excellence (AU)

[Examples of emergency surgery. Ectopic pregnancy, biliary ileus, appendicitis]. / Exemples de chirurgie d'urgence. Grossesse extra-utérine, iléus biliaire, appendicite.

Surgery was practised at home for a long time during the first half of the XXth century. The improvement of anaesthesia and of the structures of cares provoked the progressive disappearing of these practices after the WWII. Although modern techniques were currently used in the Hospitals of the Universities the conditions of practising remained the same in some countries at the beginning of the century. At the beginning of the 50s before the growing transports surgical emergencies could be taken in charge at home in some areas uneasy to reach.

The assassination of President John F Kennedy: a neuroforensic analysis--part 1: a neurosurgeon's previously undocumented eyewitness account of the events of November 22, 1963.

SUBSTANTIAL LITERATURE EXISTS on the assassination and subsequent pathological examination of President John F. Kennedy. The Warren Report, the United States Government's official report on the assassination, instead of providing definitive answers on the precise cause of President Kennedy's death, sparked intense and on-going debate. Since the publication of the Warren Report in September 1964, many issues have been woven into a wide array of theories concerning the assassination. One element continues to generate debate, namely, the exact sites of the wounds that President Kennedy sustained. A neuroforensic analysis of the wounds, from the perspective of the neurosurgeon, would establish a reasonable hypothesis for the mechanics of the shooting. Eyewitness accounts of the events surrounding the assassination represent one critical source of data for such an analysis. This report provides a previously undocumented neurosurgeon's eyewitness account of what transpired in Trauma Room 1 of Parkland Memorial Hospital on November 22, 1963.

[One hundred years of the Association of Surgeons in the Netherlands. V. Traumatology]. / Honderd jaar Nederlandse Vereniging voor Heelkunde. V. Traumatologie.

Traumatology in the Netherlands gained considerable momentum during the last years of the twentieth century. This breakthrough was due to the creation of ten trauma care centres, each with its own 'mobile medical team'. Additionally, four of these centres dispose of a helicopter for rapid transport of this team. Furthermore, within the field of medical education and training, new courses on advanced trauma and life support (ATLS) and advanced pediatric life support (APLS), for example, not only offer more practical knowledge, but also provide a 'common language' for all those involved in the medical and organisational aspects of trauma care. Surgical treatment of trauma injuries is becoming increasingly oriented towards minimally invasive techniques. Assessment of the quality of care provided requires a broad and reliable registration system for injuries.