The marrow of the tragedy (Harvey Cushing)

One of the curses of mankind is to involve itself in war. Whether it is a small skirmish between towns or principalities or a major conflagration between countries, men fight, are wounded and must be cared for. Under combat conditions, often extreme, doctors must attempt to resuscitate, repair and, later, reconstruct. By trial, expediency and desperation, many advances in surgical techniques and concepts have emanated from these situations. Among his several contributions, Cushing's experience at the Front in World War I allowed him to find new approaches to the care of neurologic war wounds, as well as the opportunity to study neurophysiologic events following selective injury. Not only his scientific papers documenting his experiences, but his own diaries chronicling his involvement in the war, both in Boston and France, are unique and have rarely been matched.