Home  /  Issues

Volume 10 Number 2

August 2001

In this issue

Peer-reviewed research, commentary and history from across military and veterans’ health.

Editorial – Vision for the future

"You can never plan the future by the past" (Edmund Burke 1729-1797) I have now just completed nine months as the Director of the Joint Health Support Agency. I often…

Abstract from the Literature

Srinivasan A. Kraus CN, DeShazer D, et al. Glanders in a military research microbiologist. N Engl J Med 2001;345(4):256-8. Comment: This is the first reported human case of glanders in…

Abstract from the Literature

Rosenberg E, Caine Y. Survey of Israeli Air Force line Commander support for fatigue prevention initiatives. Aviat Space Environ Med 2001;72(4):352-356. Background: Sustained and continuous high-intensity military operations have increased…

Aortic Trauma

Aortic trauma is often poorly recognised in a trauma setting and represents a significant cause of lethal injury. Most casualties will die at the scene. This article attempts to define…

Contact Poisons: A Brief Touch

'Murder by poisoning is a crime of devilish wickedness and inhumanity which no language can adequately describe. ' John Glaister (1954) Introduction Gail Bell, in her book 'The Poison Principle',…

Dual Roles: Poisonous Sea Creatures and Their Role in Neuromuscular Research – Implications for Military Medicine

The discipline of military medicine necessitates an understanding of the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the motor unit. Nerve gases and their antidotes effect the third link, the neuromuscular junction, of…

Genetic Vaccination: Can Plasmid DNA deliver its expectations?

Vaccines are effective at protecting not only individuals, but also communities. In the last fifty years, global immunisation programs have developed such strong "herd immunity" that some diseases, e.g. smallpox…

Iceblink: The tragic fate of Sir John Franklin’s lost polar expedition

It has been called the greatest disaster in the history of polar exploration. Led by Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, two state-of-the art ships and 128 hand-picked men – the…

RACS Annual Scientific Meeting 2001 – Military Surgical Section

The Military Surgical Section of the RACS An¬nual Scientific Congress was held in Canberra on 10 May and 11 May 2001. The section was convened by Richard Nugent from Canberra.…

Roden Cutler, V.C. – The Biography

In this her first attempt at nonfiction, Colleen McCullough has excelled. Not only does she tell the life story of a great Australian, but she also explores the question -…

SURGERY, SAND AND SAIGON TEA – An Australian Army Doctor in Vietnam

(Reproduced with permission from Allen and Unwin) SURGERY, SAND AND SAIGON TEA is one of Allen and Unwin's latest releases. This book is a candid and frank look at Australian…

The Future Role of Information Technology in Military Health

On technology: The press, the machine, the railway, the telegraph are premises whose thousand­ year conclusion no one has yet dared to draw. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). German philosopher On information:…

Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure and Melanoma in Australian Naval Personnel

In the tropics of Australia, the Royal Australian Navy operates two permanent bases and conducts a large number of operations. Despite an overall incidence of melanoma not significantly different to…

Variola Virus – Destruction Imminent

Most medical personnel will not have seen smallpox, the disease resulting from infection by the variola virus. Hopefully, they never will. The last case of naturally acquired smallpox occurred in…