| Head protection in England before the first World War. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 11126898 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Man has sought to protect himself from physical injury resulting either from the vicissitudes of an arbitrary natural environment or from the calculated activity of his fellow creatures since at least the beginning of recorded time. The earliest substantial British evidence of this activity dates from shortly after the Roman invasion of 55 BC. The head has always been seen by both assailant and defender as a region of particular vulnerability, where an incapacitating blow might most effectively be landed. We present an overview of the evolution and development of English military head protection through the ages, with particular reference to the advances made in metallurgical technology at Greenwich through the course of the 16th century. Much of this represents original research by the authors (particularly ARW), published here for the first time. We include the first metallographic data on armor excavated from the Wisby grave-pits (1361), the first scientific analysis of the textile composition of medieval helmet linings from the Wallace Collection, and the first metallurgical study of the Windsor Castle suit, the personal armor of King Henry VIII, perhaps England's most famous monarch. We combine this with our own experimental data, also previously unpublished, relating to the attack energy available from ancient weaponry (whose technology determines the design of defenses, then as now) in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of helmets. Finally, we set this in the context of contemporary medical technology. The latter is found to be woefully inadequate when presented with serious head injuries. Nevertheless, mortality from battlefield injury has been reduced from ancient times to the present day, despite advances in weapons technology. |
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Authors:
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T P Blackburn; D A Edge; A R Williams; C B Adams |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Neurosurgery Volume: 47 ISSN: 0148-396X ISO Abbreviation: Neurosurgery Publication Date: 2000 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2000-12-20 Completed Date: 2001-02-08 Revised Date: 2009-03-26 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7802914 Medline TA: Neurosurgery Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1261-85; discussion 1285-6 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Neurosciences, Cromwell Hospital, London, England. gammaknife@dial.pipex.com |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Craniocerebral Trauma
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surgery England Head Protective Devices* History, 15th Century History, 16th Century History, 17th Century History, Ancient History, Medieval Humans Metallurgy Neurosurgery War* |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Neurosurgery. 2001 Aug;49(2):478-9
[PMID:
11504132
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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