Technological innovation and humanitarianism in the transport of war wounded: Nicasio Landa’s report on a new elastic suspension system for stretchers (Pamplona, May 29, 1875)

摘要

[EN] In May 1875, in the midst of a bloody civil conflict in Spain known as the Third Carlist War, Nicasio Landa, a medical officer with Military Health, wrote a report requesting authorization for the Spanish Red Cross, of which he was Inspector General, to adopt a new elastic suspension system for stretchers that he had designed, developed and tested. Intended above all for use in farm wagons – still the most widely-used method of transporting the wounded at the time – it was an inexpensive, sturdy mechanism that improved patient comfort and could also be installed in ambulance carriages, railway carriages and hospital ships. An annotated version of the report is included, preceded by a presentation of its contents.