A litter is a

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

or basket designed to be used where there are obstacles to movement or other hazards: for example, in confined spaces, on slopes, in wooded terrain. Typically it is shaped to accommodate an adult in a face up position and it is used in

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. The person is strapped into the basket, making safe evacuation possible. The person generally is further protected by a cervical collar and sometimes a long spine board, so as to immobilize the person and prevent further injury. A litter essentially is a stretcher with sides (or just a raised edge) and a removable head/torso cover. They are most notably remembered from

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

images of

United States Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...

airmen or more recent

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

video clips of helicopters rescuing injured people from isolated areas. Some will also recall the images from the TV shows ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

'' and ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...

'' of fixed stretchers on either side of medical evacuation helicopters. One widely used style of litter is the Stokes basket.

Uses

After the person is secured in the litter, the litter may be wheeled, carried by hand, mounted on an ATV, towed behind

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

, or horse, lifted or lowered on high angle ropes, or hoisted by helicopter. Litters are used to rescue victims in confined spaces, such as inside a ship or a cave network. Litters used in surface water rescue are equipped with floats. Litters used in

mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

usually are equipped with a cover or other material to protect the person from falling rocks. Litters used in search and rescue often can be disassembled for easier carrying. Some litters can be mounted on a wheel.

Stokes basket

A Stokes basket, also called a Stokes stretcher or Stokes litter, is a metal wire or plastic litter widely used in

. Its key feature is that it can be disassembled for transport in backpacks or by

pack horse Pack or packs may refer to: Places * Pack, Austria, a municipality in Styria, Austria * Pack, Missouri * Chefornak Airport, Alaska, by ICAO airport code Groups of animals or people * Pack (canine), family structure of wild animals of the ...

. Originally designed by Charles F. Stokes, these baskets have been notorious for spinning under the downdraft from the rotating helicopter blades. Design improvements have included using multiple attachment points, separate hold-down cables, and powered extension hoists to help save more lives. Recently the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

has used the Stokes basket to transport patients through narrow corridors and doorways.

History

During the

United States Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

-mounted litters were used to transport wounded soldiers from battlefields. Rear Admiral Charles Francis Stokes, retired Surgeon General of the Navy from 1910 to 1924, devised the Stokes stretcher.

Gallery

Image:Raederbahre-1900.jpg, Litter on wheels, made circa 1900 Image:Lowering rescue basket.jpg, Firefighters lowering a Stokes basket down a hill Image:Akia Abfahrt.jpg, Patient transport sled managed by skiers Image:Gebirgstrage01.jpg, A mountain rescue litter

References

External links