Abstract

MENENDEZ LOPEZ, José R.. Armamento no letal: un dilema tanto médico como ético. Rev Cub Med Mil [online]. 2003, vol.32, n.3. ISSN 0138-6557.

The contemporary scientific and technical revolution has given humanity an important series of achievements in practically all the spheres. The scientific thinking and action that originated it was directed to progress for peace, wellbeing and the development of the productive forces. This papers deals with the development of a new type of weapon considered as "non-lethal". According to this denomination, it is presented as a "tolerable" weapon comparing its relative incapacity for producing health casualties with the multiple health casualties caused by the use of conventional weapons. Emphasis is made on how harmful and deceptive the denomination of this new kind of weapon is and the attention is called on the the fact that clinical figures with combined injuries (conventional weapon plus non-lethal weapon) may appear in future wars and that the personnel giving medical attention to these people under those circunstances may have little knowldege about them.. Finally, it is stressed that contemporary medicine is in a dilemma from the ethical point of view, since it has to recognize and treat clinical figures resulting from the misused effects of the attainments of the scientific and technical revolution.

Keywords : MILITARY MEDICINE; FIREARMS [clasification]; ETHICS; WAR WOUNDED.

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