Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

A Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is a self-contained United States Army military unit established to perform surgery and provide post-operative care immediately behind the front lines. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War.

The MASH unit was conceived by Michael E. DeBakey and other surgical consultants as the Mobile Auxiliary Surgical Hospital. It was an alternative to the system of portable surgical hospitals, field hospitals, and general hospitals used during World War II. It was designed to get experienced personnel closer to the front, so that the wounded could be treated sooner and with greater success.

The idea made its way into popular culture through a film and television show.

External link

Office of Medical History for the U.S. Army Surgeon General