Your comments on wound care in the field are correct. There is no emergency to "close" a wound in the field. Closing a wound that is not properly prepared invites the risk of serious, life threatening infection.<br><br>Maggots are tolerated in third world countries as they only consume dead tissue.<br><br>During the War of Northern Aggression (Civil War to you Yankees), there was no concern about infection and no knowledge of sterility, germs, etc. The prevailing thinking was that a would would not heal properly without infection (laudable pus). The re-used contaminated instruments, bandages, and sponges and wiped their hands on filthy aprons. That our ancestors survived at all is amazing.<br>