NPS Photos
Left: Ear syringes, pill tile and other medical supplies were used by the USS Cairo's surgeon and the surgeon's steward, John W. Gerten, who listed his occupation as a butcher prior to the war! Right: Close-up of tourniquet clamps (upper left), small ointment box (lower left), and rubber arterial sutures. The sutures were pliant and elastic when salvaged from the Cairo in 1964. 
NPS Photos
Left: Parts of a scale (weight pan, arm, and iron weight) were recovered along with this foot tub, which was found in the gunboat's pilot house. Center: Some of the medicine bottles recovered from the USS Cairo still contained their original liquids and compounds. Right: The bottles contained such medicines as castor oil, chlorate, quinine, rhubarb, sulfur (an antidote for itch), zinc chloride (used as an antiseptic and astringent), and ferric chloride (prescribed by the Cairo's surgeon as an iron tonic). |
Last updated: April 14, 2015