The
following is a dictated translation of the hand-written application to
the U. S. Navy Examination Board during the Civil War by a civilian
physician/surgeon for a position as a medical officer in the Federal
Navy or for promotion to Assistant Surgeon by an Acting Assistant
Surgeon. The actual
applications are in the possession of the author and presented to
enlighten the general public and other researchers as to the education
process before and during the Civil War, the personal history of the
applicants, as well as to show their personal level of medical knowledge
in answering the questions asked by the Navy Board of Examiners.
(Some applicants failed to pass and did not serve or served in the Union
Army.)
This written presentation was first of a part of a two-part exam consisting of a written
exam and an oral exam.
Many of these applications are rich
with highly detailed medical content offering an interesting perspective
on the medical knowledge and practices of the period.
A broad sampling of these exams is presented to
give you a 'picture' of the type of applicant being examined and
admitted to or rejected by the Federal Navy in 1863. Much more detail
on the individuals and their personal and naval history will be
presented in a forth-coming book by Dr. Herman.
(The actual written exam photos are available, but not presented on
these pages due to the size of the files. An
example
of a hand-written exam is on the
'List of all Applicants' page)
If you have additional information or images for any of these
doctors, please
contact us.
A list with links to
all applicants in this survey of U.S. Navy Applicants for 1863
Example of a handwritten exam given by the Navy Examination Board
Applicant: Isaac Poole, M.D.
Navy Yard, Charlestown,
Nov. 20th 1863.
Dr. Ruschenberger
Dear Sir,
I was born in Halifax, Plymouth
County, Mass., July 26th., 1837. I fitted for College at
Plympton Academy but did not enter for several reasons. My preceptor
was Josiah Hammond M.D. of Plympton Mass. and I received my diploma from
Berkshire Medical College, Pittsfield, Mass. I have attended to all the
sick in King’s Co Lunatic Asylum for the past year.
Most Resp. Yours
Isaac Poole.
34 Cherry St.
Cambridge port
Mass.
Questions by the Board:
Dr. Isaac Poole is requested to write
answers to the following questions? [sic]
1. What
blood vessels are divided in amputating at the shoulder joint?
2. What
is chyle, how was it formed, and what purpose does it serve?
3. What
parts enter into the composition of the knee joint?
4. What
are the diagnostic symptoms of typhoid fever?
5. What
are the officinal preparations of sodium and the dose of each?
6. What
substances result from the chemical combination of oxygen and nitrogen?
Answers by Poole:
1. Axillary artery also the
Supra-Scapular, the Transverse Colli, and the Circumflex arteries, the
Subclavian, the Basilic and the Cephalic veins.
2. Chyle is the fluid which is taken
up by the lacteals and conveyed by them from the intestines to the
Thoracic duct which empties it into the Subclavian vein.
I believe there are difference
theories in regard to the subject. Food when taken into the mouth is
divided by the teeth and moistened by the Saliva. It then passes
through Pharynx [sic] and esophagus into the stomach. Its presence
excites the muscles to action and the food is rolled from one part of
the organ to the other. In its journey it becomes moistened by the
gastric juice which digests the albuminoid elements, and nothing else.
All starch and sugar and fat passes into the duodenum unchanged. If
adipose tissue enters the stomach the cellular tissue is digested and
the oil globules are set free but are not changed at all in their
condition. Passing into the duodenum and other small intestines the
starch and sugar are digested by the intestinal juices and the fat by
the pancreatic juice. The fat is not changed in its chemical
constitution but simply “emulsioned” so that the lacteals can absorb it
which it is their special duty to perform. The other portions of the
food are taken up by the minute blood vessels which line the intestine.
The nutritive elements of the food undergo further changes in the
vessels by which they are absorbed by which they are assimilated to the
various tissues of body of which there destined to form a part.
3. The lower extremity of the femur
the upper extremity of the tibia and the patella. The Rectus Femoris
Vastus Internus and Externus, Crureus and Sub. Crureus Biceps Femoris,
Sartorius Semi-Tendinosus Semi-Membranosus Popliteus and Gastrocnemius
Muscles, and from fifteen to eighteen ligaments.
4. Stupor – debility – swelling of
the abdomen – the dry-fissured tongue. The peculiar rose colored spots
on the abdomen
5. Chloride of Sodium – dose from 10
to 40 grains. Bicarbonate of soda – dose 10 to 20 grs –
6. Nitric Acid
Isaac Poole.
Nov. 20th, 1863.