Existing comment:
"Biting the Bullet" vs Anesthesia
Myth:
"Since amputations were done without anesthesia, patients were given bullets to bit on."
Truth:
By the Civil War, the anesthetic qualities of chloroform and ether were well known and anesthesia was used in approximately 95 percent of Civil War surgeries. They myth about "biting the bullet" may have come from the fact that only a low dose of anesthetic was used during the Civil War, just enough to make the patient insensitive to pain. Surgeons worked quickly and could complete a major operation in a matter of minutes. |