Early Uses of Cadavers in the Military
What was La Garde’s book titled?
Gunshot Injuries
How are animals used for ballistic testing besides using their cadavers?
Animal tissue is used to create ballistic gelatin that resembles human thighs
What company invented the gelatin simulant?
Kind and Knox
Who is Captain Louis La Garde and how did he conduct his experiments?
The U.S. Army surgeon who conducted experiments by firing cadavers to compare the effects of .30-caliber and .45-caliber rifles.
What is stopping power and what do people consider it?
Considered the Holy Grail of ballistics research, describes the ability of a bullet to stop an enemy.
What international armies first used cadavers?
German, Swiss, French
Does the US army still have a ban on testing ballistics with animals?
What is ballistic gelatin made from?
cow bone chips and “freshly chopped” pig hide
How was body armor tested during Operation Boar?
They issued experimental vests to 6,000 soldiers and compared them to those with standard vests.
What is shock in ballistics testing?
The swinging of a cadaver’s movement after being shot is used to measure this force.
What did La Garde do with the cadavers?
Shot them in different places with different charges and autopsied them.
What animal do they use for testing in China and why?
Dogs, because there is less stigma around using them
What types of bullets is Human Tissue Simulant used to discover?
Bullets that will incapacitate without maiming or killing
What are institutional review boards?
Ethical oversight groups that approve cadaver research proposals.
What is instant collapse according to Duncan MacPherson?
It is a person’s reaction to being shot, which depends on their mental state rather than physical trauma.
What prompted La Garde want to investigate a weapons efficacy at halting enemies?
The Moro tribe of the Phillipines and their ability to not be halted by being shot.
Why don’t animals “freeze” like humans do when they are shot?
They do not have the same psychological response since they do not know what getting shot is
What type of view does human tissue simulant provide?
A “stop action” view
What condition did Commander Marlene DeMaio need to meet when using cadavers to test body armor?
The condition was that the bullets cannot penetrate the skin.
What is the reticular activating system (RAS) and what is it affected by?
The part of the brain stem responsible for sudden collapse that is affected by impulses arising from pain in the inner organs.
Give 3 examples of targets the Swiss army militia tested their guns on.
Bottles, books, water-filled pig intestines, oxen bones, human skulls, and a pair of whole human cadavers
Why are pigs commonly used for testing?
Their hearts are very similar to human hearts (similar organs)
What is a recommended Human Tissue Simulant today?
Dental Silicone
What is the Extremity Trauma Study Branch and what do they do?
The U.S. Army research branch that uses cadavers to test land mine clearance footwear.
How is incapacitation capacity relevant in the military today?
The military is working to develop less-lethal weapons aimed at maiming, not killing the enemy.