Editing Emergency medical services (section)

===Precursors===
Emergency care in the field has been rendered in different forms since the beginning of recorded history. The [[New Testament]] contains the [[parable of the Good Samaritan]], in which a man who has been beaten is cared for by a passing Samaritan. Luke 10:34 (NIV) – "He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him." During the Middle Ages, the [[Knights Hospitaller]] were known for rendering assistance to wounded soldiers in the battlefield.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52749|title=Knights Hospitaller's|access-date=2008-08-20}}</ref>

[[File:Larrey%27s_Flying_Ambulance.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A drawing of one of Larrey's ''ambulances volantes'']]
The first use of the ambulance as a specialized vehicle, in battle came about with the ''ambulances volantes'' designed by [[Dominique Jean Larrey]] (1766–1842), [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte's chief surgeon.<ref name=fly1>{{cite journal|vauthors=Skandalakis PN, Lainas P, Zoras O, Skandalakis JE, Mirilas P|title='To afford the wounded speedy assistance': Dominique Jean Larrey and Napoleon|journal=World Journal of Surgery|volume=30|issue=8|pages=1392–99|date=August 2006|pmid=16850154|doi=10.1007/s00268-005-0436-8|s2cid=42597837}}</ref><ref name=fly2>{{cite journal|url=http://napoleonic-literature.com/Flying_Ambulance.htm|title=The Revolutionary Flying Ambulance of Napoleon's Surgeon|last=Ortiz|first=Captain Jose M|date=October–December 1998|pages=17–25|volume=8|access-date=9 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514091424/http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/Flying_Ambulance.htm|archive-date=14 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Larrey was present at the battle of Spires, between the [[France|French]] and [[Prussia]]ns, and was distressed by the fact that wounded soldiers were not picked up by the numerous ambulances (which Napoleon required to be stationed two and half miles back from the scene of battle) until after hostilities had ceased, and set about developing a new ambulance system.<ref name=fly1/><ref name=fly2/><ref name=Ambulance>{{cite book|author=Barkley, Katherine|title=The ambulance: the story of emergency transportation of sick and wounded through the centuries|publisher=Exposition Press|location=New York|year=1978|isbn=978-0-682-48983-6}}</ref> Having decided against using the Norman system of horse litters, he settled on two- or four-wheeled [[horse]]-drawn wagons, which were used to transport fallen soldiers from the (active) battlefield ''after'' they had received early treatment in the field.<ref name=fly2/> Larrey's projects for 'flying ambulances' were first approved by the [[Committee of Public Safety]] in 1794. Larrey subsequently entered Napoleon's service during the Italian campaigns in 1796, where his ambulances were used for the first time at Udine, Padua and Milan, and he adapted his ambulances to the conditions, even developing a litter which could be carried by a [[camel]] for a campaign in [[Egypt]].<ref name=fly2/>