THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CARREL,ALEXIS TO THE MANAGEMENT OF CONTAMINATED WOUNDS

Wound care through the ages has ranged from good to bad, and at times has been disgusting, with little scientific approach. von Eiselberg's dictum of no touch for military wounds proved disastrous to patients w ith gunshot and shrapnel wounds in the First World War. Alexis Carrel, a brilliant experimental surgeon, spearheaded the research that led t o the development and application of debridement and irrigation for co mbat wounds. Early in his career, Carrel reported on a miraculous cure that he had observed in Lourdes, France. However, this report resulte d in a strained professional environment in his homeland of France, wh ich persisted in spite of his subsequent moves to Canada and then to t he United States. There he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.