The Origin of Military Radiology Use of X-Rays During the Late Ottoman Era

Abstract

After its discovery by WC. Roentgen by the end of 1895, X-Rays were immediately used for medical and surgical purposes to detect foreign objects within the human body due to injuries and/or gunshots, which inspired discussions over its functionality in military surgery. X-Rays were first used in the beginning of 1896 at the British River Wars in Nile, Egypt. In May 1896, the Italian Doctor Guiseppe Alvaro took two wounded soldiers from Ethiopia to Italy and shot radiographies of them by making use of X-Rays in the Naples Military Hospital. He published his observations in Giornale Medico del Regio Esercito. Before Alvaro's piece, an article had been published in Medizinische Wohenschrift, on February 4, 1896 about the use of X-Rays on the wounded soldiers in the Prussian Army.