TY - JOUR T1 - The University of Toronto’s lasting contribution to war surgery: how Maj. L. Bruce Robertson fundamentally transformed thinking toward blood transfusion during the First World War JF - Canadian Journal of Surgery JO - CAN J SURG SP - 152 LP - 154 DO - 10.1503/cjs.006317 VL - 60 IS - 3 AU - Abigail Tien AU - Lt.-Col. Andrew Beckett AU - Maj. Dylan Pannell Y1 - 2017/06/01 UR - http://canjsurg.ca/content/60/3/152.abstract N2 - During the Great War, Canadian military surgeons produced some of the greatest innovations to improve survival on the battlefield. Arguably, the most important was bringing blood transfusion practice close to the edge of the battlefield to resuscitate the many casualties dying of hemorrhagic shock. Dr. L. Bruce Robertson of the Canadian Army Medical Corps was the pioneering surgeon from the University of Toronto who was able to demonstrate the benefit of blood transfusions near the front line and counter the belief that saline was the resuscitation fluid of choice in military medicine. Robertson would go on to survive the Great War, but would be taken early in life by influenza. Despite his life and career being cut short, Robertson’s work is still carried on today by many military medical organizations who strive to bring blood to the wounded in austere and dangerous settings. This article has an Appendix, available at canjsurg.ca ER -