During the Civil War, they had to undergo numerous medications, operations, and surgeries on themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, paragraph 1). Some of these drugs are still used today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the fundamentals of military health care remain the same. Disease was the deadliest thing facing the Civil War soldier. For every soldier who died in combat, two died of disease. Soldiers suffered from many different illnesses and diseases, mentally and physically. They faced epidemics of measles, smallpox, malaria, pneumonia and camp itch. Soldiers contracted malaria when camping in humid areas surrounded by mosquitoes, while camp itch was caused by insects or skin diseases. They were more likely to contract these diseases through poor hygiene, insects and vermin, exposure, lack of clothing or shoes, or poor consumption of food and water. They had no knowledge of the causes of any disease. There were too few surgeons to treat the large number of sick and wounded. Many rural soldiers became ill because, for the first time, they were in a large group of people and lacked immunity to diseases such as chickenpox, smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, mumps and cough (Jenny Goellnitz, paragraph 3). These epidemics were rampant in many units. Troops from rural areas gathered for the first time with large numbers of other individuals and contracted diseases to which they had no immunity. Lack of hygiene in the camps was also a common problem. The lack of sanitation in the camps and little knowledge of how diseases spread led to a sort of “trial and error” system. London 2Both armies faced problems with mosquitoes and lice...... middle of paper ......d, 2014. "Caught in the Crosshairs: Civil War Medicine" Foundation of Army Heritage Center. December 28, 2011. Accessed April 23, 2014. “Civil War Preservation Trust” August 19, 2009. Accessed April 23, 2014. “Civil War Medicine: Overview” Jenny Goellnitz. Copyright 2014. Accessed April 23, 2014C. Keith Wilbur, MD “Civil War Medicine, 1861-1865” Globe Pequot Publications; 1st edition. Published October 1, 1998. Frank R. Freeman. “Gangrene and Glory: Medical Care in the American Civil War” University of Illinois Press Publications. Published in June, 2001.