Bleed Time

The biggest threat to human life on the battlefield is not bullets, but blood and the loss of blood, that is. Until there's a way to quickly stop the bleeding, more soldiers, car accident and gunshot victims will die from bleeding. That's the moral dilemma we face when wounded by sin: How can we stop the bleeding?

It was midafternoon, April 6, 1862, when a young officer spotted Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston wobbling in the saddle after leading a bloody charge at Shiloh. "Are you hurt?" the officer asked.

"Yes," replied Johnston. "And I think it's serious."

But soon he had bled to death from what was a readily treatable leg wound. He ignored it and paid the price. Worse, said military medical historian Robert Joy, "Johnston had a tourniquet in his pocket, but didn't think it was worthwhile."

Is this ancient history? Hardly. Nearly 140 years later, blood loss still causes 50 percent of battlefield deaths in the U.S. armed forces, and the methods for coping with it are still quite low-tech: Slap on a battle dressing, press down and wait for evacuation.

But such carnage is not limited to the battlefield. Car accidents, gunshots, surgery and work-related mishaps all cause bleeding. Massive bleeding.

In fact, whether it's on the battlefield, the operating room table or the interstate...