Records and Diaries Regarding Atomic Bomb Casualties Written by Medical Doctors and Scientists

Abstract

There are multitudes of records and diaries of medical doctors and medical scientists who witnessed the disaster of atomic bomb and were faced with the atomic bomb casualties. These records include different types of documents such as doctor's personal notes, records of diagnosis and treatment, academic investigations, and doctors' own experiences of being bombed. Scattered over Japan and the U.S., these records reveal the intentions and the viewpoints of the recorders. The different views in the records show that the doctors and medical scientists were not monolithic and give us a clue to thinking about the problem of medical treatment for atomic bomb survivors. This essay introduces some of the medical records pertaining to atomic bomb casualties and considers the recorders' stances and viewpoints.