
n.
A specially equipped vehicle used to transport the sick or injured.
[French, from (hôpital) ambulant, mobile (hospital), from Latin ambulāns, ambulant-, present participle of ambulāre, to walk.]
On this page
American Heritage Dictionary:
am·bu·lance |

[French, from (hôpital) ambulant, mobile (hospital), from Latin ambulāns, ambulant-, present participle of ambulāre, to walk.]
|
Featured Videos:
|
Gale's How Products Are Made:
How is an ambulance made? |
An ambulance is a self-propelled vehicle specifically designed to transport critically sick or injured people to a medical facility. Most ambulances are motor vehicles, although helicopters, airplanes, and boats are also used. The interior of an ambulance has room for one or more patients plus several emergency medical personnel. It also contains a variety of supplies and equipment that are used to stabilize the patient's condition while en route.
Background
The earliest ambulances were simple two-wheeled carts used to carry sick or wounded soldiers who were unable to walk by themselves. The word ambulance comes from the Latin word ambulare, meaning to walk or move about. The first ambulances specifically used to transport patients to a medical facility were developed in the late 1700s in France by Dominique-Jean Larrey, surgeon-in-chief in Napoleon's army. Larrey noted that it took almost a full day for wounded soldiers to be carried to field hospitals, and that most of them died in that time "from want of assistance." To render more immediate aid and provide faster transportation, he designed a horse-drawn carriage staffed by a medical officer and assistant with room for several patients on stretchers.
The first military ambulance corps in the United States was organized in 1862 during the Civil War as part of the Union army. The first civilian ambulance service in the United States was organized three years later by the Cincinnati Commercial Hospital. By the turn of the century, most major hospitals had their own private ambulances. The first motorized ambulance went into operation in Chicago in 1899.
In areas where there were no major hospitals, the local undertaker's hearse was often the only vehicle capable of carrying a patient on a stretcher, and many funeral homes also provided an ambulance service. As a result, the design and construction of ambulances and hearses remained closely related for many years.
Most early ambulances were simply intended to transport patients. After the doctor or fire department rescue squad applied first aid, the patient was loaded into the back of the ambulance for a quick ride to the hospital. In some cases, the doctor rode along, but most of the time the patient rode alone and unattended. In the United States that changed dramatically when the federal government passed the Highway Safety Act in 1966. Among its many standards, the new act set requirements for ambulance design and emergency medical care. Ambulances with low-slung, hearse-like bodies were replaced by high-bodied vans to accommodate additional personnel and equipment. Radios were installed. Many ambulances carried advanced equipment like cardiac defibrillators, along with an arsenal of life-saving medicines and drugs.
Today, ambulances come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The simplest designs are equipped to provide basic life support, or BLS, while larger, more sophisticated designs are equipped to provide advanced life support, or ALS. Ambulances may be operated by private companies, hospitals, the local fire or police department, or a separate city-run organization.
Raw Materials
Ambulance manufacturers purchase many components from other suppliers rather than fabricate them themselves. These include the vehicle cab and chassis, warning lights and sirens, radios, most electrical system components, the heating and air conditioning components, the oxygen system components, and various body trim pieces like windows, latches, handles, and hinges.
If the ambulance has a separate body, the body framework is usually made of formed or extruded aluminum. The outer walls are painted aluminum sheet, and the interior walls are usually aluminum sheet covered with a vinyl coating or a laminated plastic. The subfloor may be made of plywood or may use an open-cored plastic honeycomb laminated to aluminum sheet. The interior floor covering is usually a seamless, industrial-grade vinyl that extends partially up each side for easy cleaning.
Interior cabinets in the patient compartment are usually made of aluminum with transparent, shatter-resistant plastic panels in the doors. The counter and wall surfaces in the "action area," the area immediately opposite the patient's head and torso in the left-hand forward portion of the ambulance body, are usually covered with a seamless sheet of stainless steel to resist the effects of blood and other body fluids. Interior seating and other upholstered areas have a flame-retardant foam padding with a vinyl covering. Interior grab handles and grab rails are made of stainless steel. Other interior trim pieces may be made of various rubber or plastic materials.
Design
Ambulance designs fall into three categories. Type I ambulances have a modular, or detachable, body built on a truck chassis. The truck cab is connected to the body through a small window, but the occupants of the cab must go outside the vehicle to enter the ambulance body. Type II ambulances use a van with a raised roof. Because of the van construction, the occupants of the cab can easily enter the body from the inside, although the interior space is limited. Type III ambulances have a modular body built on a cut-away van chassis. This design combines the capacity of the larger modular body with the walk-through accessibility of a van.
The federal requirements for ambulances are defined by General Services Administration Standard KKK-A-1822: Federal Specifications for Ambulances. It covers overall construction, electrical systems, emergency warning lights, and many other aspects of ambulance design. Some states have adopted this federal standard, while others have their own design requirements. Because an ambulance is a motor vehicle, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) apply to the vehicle portion. Certain Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards regarding blood-borne and airborne pathogens also apply. Within the framework of these standards, manufacturers may specify specific features and materials to provide their products with unique advantages in the marketplace.
The Manufacturing
Process
Ambulances are usually manufactured in a modified assembly line process, where the vehicle or body moves from one fixed area of a plant to another, rather than being pulled along an assembly line. Specific parts are brought to each area for installation or assembly. Different manufacturers may use slightly different processes. The following is a typical sequence of operations for the manufacture of a Type I ambulance with a modular body.
Building the body shell
Preparing the cab and chassis
Mounting the body
Finishing the body
Quality Control
The design of ambulances is regulated by several standards, and the manufacturer must take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with those standards. Each system is inspected and tested for proper installation and operation as part of the manufacturing process. In addition, every material, from the aluminum in the body to the foam in the head rests, is certified by the manufacturer to meet the required specifications.
The Future
Many fire departments are finding that approximately 80-90% of their calls are for medical emergencies, while only 10-20% are for fires. In the case of medical emergencies, an ambulance has to be called in addition to the fire engine. Instead of responding to all calls with large pumpers or ladder trucks, some fire departments are starting to use smaller, lower-cost first-response vehicles that combine the equipment and patient transport capabilities of a rescue truck and ambulance with the fire suppression capabilities of a small pumper. These combination vehicles are able to handle a variety of emergency situations, including those involving small fires such as might occur in vehicle accidents. This saves wear on the larger firefighting vehicles, and eliminates the need to dispatch two vehicles to the same incident. In the future, an increase in traffic congestion and an increase in the average age of the population in the United States are expected to increase the number of medical emergency calls. When this happens, it is expected that the single-function ambulance may be replaced by a multi-function combination vehicle in many areas.
Where to Learn More
Books
Barkley, Katherine Traver. Ambulance: The Story of Emergency Transportation of Sick and Wounded Through the Centuries., 1990.
Haller, John S. Jr. Farmcarts to Fords: A History of the Military Ambulance, 1790-1925. Southern Illinois University Press, 1992.
McCall, Walt and Tom McPherson. Classic American Ambulances. Iconografix, 1999.
Periodicals
Kelly, Jack. "Rescue Squad." American Heritage (May/June 1996): 91-99.
Sachs, Gordon M. "The Evolution of the Fire Service EMS Vehicle." Fire Engineering (July 1998): 22, 24, 26.
Other
Federal Specifications for Ambulances. General Services Administration Standard KKK-A-1822.
American Emergency Vehicles. September 28, 1998. http://www.ambulance.com/ (June 29, 1999).
McCoy Miller Corporation website. May 26, 1999. http://www.mccoymiller.com/ (June 29, 1999).
Road Rescue, Inc. http://www.roadrescue.com/ (June 29, 1999).
[Article by: Chris Cavette]
Oxford Companion to Military History:
ambulances |
The transport of sick or wounded forms an important element of the organization of military medicine, and its efficiency directly affects survival rates. An ambulance is effectively any vehicle designed for the transport of the ill or the injured. However, in the military context the term can also be used to encompass vehicles primarily designed for another purpose and either adapted, or pressed into service, to transport casualties. Such movement might either be from the field of combat to a local treatment centre, for example a Regimental Aid Post (RAP) or from a RAP to a Field Hospital. The transportation of the wounded between one hospital and another, or from a hospital to the safety of a rear area facility, is largely dependent on available resources and the distance to be covered. During the American civil war, rail transport became available for this type of movement, and railways continued to remain an important means of casualty evacuation at this level throughout 20th-century wars in Europe and elsewhere.
Prior to the advent of motor vehicles, casualty evacuation and transportation was largely reliant on horse- or oxen-drawn vehicles. Litters, pack animals, and handcarts were also used to remove wounded from the battlefield, in fact geneh as the French use of dogcarts during WW I. During the Napoleonic wars the French surgeon Larrey played an important part in developing military ambulances.
The use of straw as a means of preventing further injury and providing a modicum of comfort for the injured soldier, was widely utilized before suspension was introduced to wagons. Straw had the additional advantage of soaking up fluids that would otherwise be circulating either around the bodies or on the floor of the vehicle, in the days before the nature of contamination and cross-infection were understood.
In addition to stretcher mountings secured to a resilient base, in order to prevent jarring the wounded, modern military ambulances are equipped with many of the up-to-date devices of their civilian counterparts. Such gear would normally include blood-transfusion apparatus and oxygen-inhalation sets. While civilian ambulances in the main are built for speed and a smooth ride along metalled roads, their military equivalents more often have a cross-country ability and a larger carrying capacity. The most commonly used military 4 × 4 and 6 × 6 vehicles have ambulance variants and these may carry from three stretcher-cases or five ‘walking wounded’ casualties upwards. The nature of armoured warfare has led to tracked ambulances, based on the APCs of their respective army, which offer protection against small arms and support weapons fire, as well as blast or chemical and biological attack. The use of this type of vehicle allows ambulances to deploy with tanks and other armour, when wheeled transport would be unsuitable.
The most effective means of casualty evacuation in current use is the helicopter. In recent years civilian ‘air ambulances’ have played an important role in the emergency treatment and transportation of injured patients, a method first exploited on any scale by US armed forces during the Vietnam war. Today purpose-equipped ‘medevac/casevac’ helicopters are employed by all modern western armies enabling, where the tactical situation allows, casualties to be moved quickly from combat directly to secure areas where surgeons and other treatment specialists await them.
— Peter MacDonald
Word Tutor:
ambulance |
The ambulance rushed to help the wounded.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Sign Language Videos:
ambulance |
Random House Word Menu:
categories related to 'ambulance' |

Rhymes:
ambulance |
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:
ambulance |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Ambulance |
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury,[1] and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient. The word is often associated with road going emergency ambulances which form part of an emergency medical service, administering emergency care to those with acute medical problems.
|
The term ambulance does, however, extend to a wider range of vehicles other than those with flashing warning lights and sirens. The term also includes a large number of non-urgent ambulances which are for transport of patients without an urgent acute condition (see functional types, below) and a wide range of urgent and non-urgent vehicles including trucks, vans, bicycles, motorbikes, station wagons, buses, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, boats, and even hospital ships (see vehicle types, also below).
The term ambulance comes from the Latin word ambulare, meaning to walk or move about[2] which is a reference to early medical care where patients were moved by lifting or wheeling. The word originally meant a moving hospital, which follows an army in its movements.[3] During the American Civil War vehicles for conveying the wounded off the field of battle were called ambulance wagons.[4] Field hospitals were still called ambulances during the Franco-Prussian War[5] of 1870 and in the Serbo-Turkish war of 1876[6] even though the wagons were first referred to as ambulances about 1854 during the Crimean War.[7]
There are other types of ambulance, with the most common being the patient transport ambulance. These vehicles are not usually (although there are exceptions) equipped with life-support equipment, and are usually crewed by staff with fewer qualifications than the crew of emergency ambulances. Their purpose is simply to transport patients to, from or between places of treatment. In most countries, these are not equipped with flashing lights or sirens. In some jurisdictions there is a modified form of the ambulance used, that only carries one member of ambulance crew to the scene to provide care, but is not used to transport the patient.[8] Such vehicles are called fly-cars. In these cases a patient who requires transportation to hospital will require a patient-carrying ambulance to attend in addition to the fast responder.
The history of the ambulance begins in ancient times, with the use of carts to transport incurable patients by force. Ambulances were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish, and civilian variants were put into operation during the 1830s.[9] Advances in technology throughout the 19th and 20th centuries led to the modern self-powered ambulances.
Ambulances can be grouped into types depending on whether or not they transport patients, and under what conditions. In some cases, ambulances may fulfil more than one function (such as combining emergency ambulance care with patient transport).
Ambulances can be based on many types of vehicle, although emergency and disaster conditions may lead to other vehicles serving as makeshift ambulances:
A paramedic's scooter in Israel
In large, congested cities, paramedics may travel by bicycle, such as this one of the London Ambulance Service
An air ambulance in Austria
A water ambulance in the Scilly Isles
Ambulance design must take into account local conditions and infrastructure. Maintained roads are necessary for road going ambulances to arrive on scene and then transport the patient to a hospital, though in rugged areas four-wheel drive or all-terrain vehicles can be used. Fuel must be available and service facilities are necessary to maintain the vehicle.
Methods of summoning (e.g. telephone) and dispatching ambulances usually rely on electronic equipment, which itself often relies on an intact power grid. Similarly, modern ambulances are equipped with two-way radios[30][31] or cellular telephones to enable them to contact hospitals, either to notify the appropriate hospital of the ambulance's pending arrival, or, in cases where physicians do not form part of the ambulance's crew, to confer with a physician for medical oversight.[32]
Ambulances often have two manufacturers. The first is frequently a manufacturer of light trucks or full-size vans (or previously, cars) such as Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, or Ford.[33] The second manufacturer (known as second stage manufacturer) purchases the vehicle (which is sometimes purchased incomplete, having no body or interior behind the driver's seat) and turns it into an ambulance by adding bodywork, emergency vehicle equipment, and interior fittings. This is done by one of two methods – either coachbuilding, where the modifications are started from scratch and built on to the vehicle, or using a modular system, where a pre-built 'box' is put on to the empty chassis of the ambulance, and then finished off.
Modern ambulances are typically powered by internal combustion engines, which can be powered by any conventional fuel, including diesel, gasoline or liquefied petroleum gas,[34][35] depending on the preference of the operator and the availability of different options. Colder regions often use gasoline powered engines, as diesels can be difficult to start when they are cold. Warmer regions may favor diesel engines, as they are thought to be more efficient and more durable. Diesel power is sometimes chosen due to safety concerns, after a series of fires involving gasoline powered ambulances during the 1980s. These fires were ultimately attributed in part to gasoline's higher volatility in comparison to diesel fuel.[36][37] The type of engine may be determined by the manufacturer: in the past two decades, Ford[38][39][40] would only sell vehicles for ambulance conversion if they are diesel powered. Beginning in 2010, Ford will sell its ambulance chassis with a gasoline engine in order to meet emissions requirements.[41]
Ambulances, like other emergency vehicles, are required to operate in all weather conditions, including those during which civilian drivers often elect to stay off the road. Also, the ambulance crew's responsibilities to their patient often preclude their use of safety devices such as seat belts. Research has shown that ambulances are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle collisions resulting in injury or death than either fire trucks or police cars. Unrestrained occupants, particularly those riding in the patient-care compartment, are particularly vulnerable.[42] When compared to civilian vehicles of similar size, one study found that on a per-accident basis, ambulance collisions tend to involve more people, and result in more injuries.[43] An 11-year retrospective study concluded in 2001 found that although most fatal ambulance crashes occurred during emergency runs, they typically occurred on improved, straight, dry roads, during clear weather.[44] Furthermore, paramedics are also at risk in ambulances while helping patients, as 27 paramedics have died during ambulance trips in the US since 1991.[45]
In addition to the equipment directly used for the treatment of patients, ambulances may be fitted with a range of additional equipment which is used in order to facilitate patient care. This could include:
In parts of the world which lack a high level of infrastructure, ambulances are designed to meet local conditions, being built using intermediate technology. Ambulances can also be trailers, which are pulled by bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, or animals. Animal-powered ambulances can be particularly useful in regions that are subject to flooding. Motorcycles fitted with sidecars (or motorcycle ambulances) are also used, though they are subject to some of the same limitations as more traditional over-the-road ambulances. The level of care provided by these ambulances varies between merely providing transport to a medical clinic to providing on-scene and continuing care during transport.[12]
The design of intermediate technology ambulances must take into account not only the operation and maintenance of the ambulance, but its construction as well. The robustness of the design becomes more important, as does the nature of the skills required to properly operate the vehicle. Cost-effectiveness can be a high priority.[13][51]
Emergency ambulances are highly likely to be involved in hazardous situations, including incidents such as a road traffic collision, as these emergencies create people who are likely to be in need of treatment. They are required to gain access to patients as quickly as possible, and in many countries, are given dispensation from obeying certain traffic laws. For instance, they may be able to treat a red traffic light or stop sign as a yield sign ('give way'),[52] or be permitted to break the speed limit.[53] Generally, the priority of the response to the call will be assigned by the dispatcher, but the priority of the return will be decided by the ambulance crew based on the severity of the patient. Patients in significant danger to life and limb (as determined by triage) require urgent treatment by advanced medical personnel,[54] and because of this need, emergency ambulances are often fitted with passive and active visual and/or audible warnings to alert road users.
The passive visual warnings are usually part of the design of the vehicle, and involve the use of high contrast patterns. Older ambulances (and those in developing countries) are more likely to have their pattern painted on, whereas modern ambulances generally carry retro-reflective designs, which reflects light from car headlights or torches. Popular patterns include 'checker board' (alternate coloured squares, sometimes called 'Battenburg', named after a type of cake), chevrons (arrowheads – often pointed towards the front of the vehicle if on the side, or pointing vertically upwards on the rear) or stripes along the side (these were the first type of retro-reflective device introduced, as the original reflective material, invented by 3M, only came in tape form). In addition to retro-reflective markings, some services now have the vehicles painted in a bright (sometimes fluorescent) yellow or orange for maximum visual impact.
Another passive marking form is the word ambulance (or local language variant) spelled out in reverse on the front of the vehicle. This enables drivers of other vehicles to more easily identify an approaching ambulance in their rear view mirrors. Ambulances may display the name of their owner or operator, and an emergency telephone number for the ambulance service.
Ambulances may also carry an emblem (either as part of the passive warning markings or not), such as a Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Crystal (collective known as the Protective Symbols). These are symbols laid down by the Geneva Convention, and all countries signatory to it agree to restrict their use to either (1) Military Ambulances or (2) the national Red Cross or Red Crescent society. Use by any other person, organization or agency is in breach of international law. The protective symbols are designed to indicate to all people (especially combatants in the case of war) that the vehicle is neutral and is not to be fired upon, hence giving protection to the medics and their casualties, although this has not always been adhered to. In Israel, Magen David Adom, the Red Cross member organization use a red Star of David, but this does not have recognition beyond Israeli borders, where they must use the Red Crystal.
The Star of Life is widely used, and was originally designed and governed by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,[55] because the Red Cross symbol is legally protected by both National[56] and international[57][58] law. It indicates that the vehicle's operators can render their given level of care represented on the six pointed star.
Ambulance services that have historical origins such as the Order of St John, the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps[59] and Malteser International[60] often use the Maltese cross to identify their ambulances. This is especially important in countries such as Australia, where St. John Ambulance operate one state and one territory ambulance service, and all of Australia's other ambulance services use variations on a red Maltese cross.[61][62][63][64]
Fire service operated ambulances may display the Cross of St. Florian (often, incorrectly, called a Maltese cross) as this cross is frequently used as a fire department logo (St. Florian being the patron saint of firefighters).[65]
The active visual warnings are usually in the form of flashing lights. These flash in order to attract the attention of other road users as the ambulance approaches, or to provide warning to motorists approaching a stopped ambulance in a dangerous position on the road. Common colours for ambulance warning beacons are blue, red, amber, and white (clear). However the colours may vary by country and sometimes by operator.
There are several technologies in use to achieve the flashing effect. These include flashing a light bulb or LED, and strobe lights, which are usually brighter than incandescent lights. Each of these can be programmed to flash singly or in groups, and can be programmed to flash in patterns (such as a left -> right pattern for use when the ambulance is parked on the left hand side of the road, indicating to other road users that they should move to the right (away from the ambulance). Incandescent and LED lights may also be programmed to burn steadily, without flashing.
Emergency lights may be housed in special fittings, such as in a lightbar, or may be hidden in a host light (such as a headlamp) by drilling a hole in the host light's reflector and inserting the emergency light. These hidden lights may not be apparent until they are activated. Additionally, some of the standard lights fitted to an ambulance (e.g. headlamps, tail lamps) may be programmed to flash. Flashing headlights (typically the high beams, flashed alternately) are known as a wig-wag.
In order to increase safety, it is best practice to have 360° coverage with the active warnings, improving the chance of the vehicle being seen from all sides. In some countries, such as the United States, this may be mandatory.
See also Emergency vehicle equipment.
In addition to visual warnings, ambulances can be fitted with audible warnings, sometimes known as sirens, which can alert people and vehicles to the presence of an ambulance before they can be seen. The first audible warnings were mechanical bells, mounted to either the front or roof of the ambulance. Most modern ambulances are now fitted with electronic sirens, producing a range of different noises which ambulance operators can use to attract more attention to themselves, particularly when proceeding through an intersection or in heavy traffic.[66]
The speakers for modern sirens can be integral to the lightbar, or they may be hidden in or flush to the grill to reduce noise inside the ambulance that may interfere with patient care and radio communications. Ambulances can additionally be fitted with airhorn audible warnings to augment the effectiveness of the siren system.
A recent development is the use of the RDS system of car radios. The ambulance is fitted with a short range FM transmitter, set to RDS code 31, which interrupts the radio of all cars within range, in the manner of a traffic broadcast, but in such a way that the user of the receiving radio is unable to opt out of the message (as with traffic broadcasts).[67] This feature is built in to every RDS radio for use in national emergency broadcast systems, but short range units on emergency vehicles can prove an effective means of alerting traffic to their presence. It is, however, unlikely that this system could replace audible warnings, as it is unable to alert pedestrians, those not using a compatible radio or even have it turned off.[68]
Some countries closely regulate the industry (and may require anyone working on an ambulance to be qualified to a set level), whereas others allow quite wide differences between types of operator.
Private services in Canada operate non-emergency or for private functions only.
The cost of an ambulance ride may be paid for from several sources, and this will depend on the type of service being provided, by whom, and possibly who to.
There are differing levels of qualification that the ambulance crew may hold, from holding no formal qualification to having a fully qualified doctor on board. Most ambulance services require at least two crew members to be on every ambulance (one to drive, and one to attend the patient), although response cars may have a sole crew member, possibly backed up by another double-crewed ambulance. It may be the case that only the attendant need be qualified, and the driver might have no medical training. In some locations, an advanced life support ambulance may be crewed by one paramedic and one EMT-Basic.
Common ambulance crew qualifications are:
Military ambulances include both ambulances based on civilian designs and armored, but unarmed ambulances based upon armoured personnel carriers (APCs) such as the British FV104 Samaritan and the U.S. M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicle. Civilian based designs may be painted in olive, white or other colours, depending on the operational requirements – the British Royal Army Medical Corps has a fleet of white ambulances, based on production trucks. Military helicopters often function as air ambulances, since they are extremely useful for MEDEVAC.[87]
Due to the inherently hazardous situation of a battle ground, military ambulances are often armored, or based upon armored fighting vehicles (AFV). Since laws of war demand ambulances marked with one of the Emblems of the Red Cross not to mount offensive weapons, an ambulance AFV is often unarmed.[88] It is a generally accepted practice in most countries to classify the personnel attached to military vehicles marked as ambulances as non-combatants; however, this application does not always exempt medical personnel from catching enemy fire —accidental or deliberate. As a result, medics and other medical personnel attached to military ambulances are usually put through basic military training,[89] on the assumption that they may have to use a weapon. The laws of war do allow non-combatant military personnel to carry individual weapons for protecting themselves and casualties. However, not all militaries exercise this right to their personnel.
Recently, Israel has modified a number of its Merkava main battle tanks with ambulance features in order to allow rescue operations to take place under heavy fire in urban warfare.[90] The modifications were made following a failed rescue attempt in which Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers who were providing aid for a Palestinian woman in Rafah.[91] Since M-113 armored personnel carriers and regular up-armored ambulances are not sufficiently protected against anti-tank weapons and improvised explosive devices,[92] it was decided to use the heavily armored Merkava tank. Its rear door enables the evacuation of critically wounded soldiers. Israel did not remove the Merkava's weaponry, claiming that weapons were more effective protection than emblems since Palestinian militants would disregard any symbols of protection and fire at ambulances anyway.[citation needed] For use as ground ambulances and treatment & evacuation vehicles, the United States military currently employs the M113, the M577, the M1133 Stryker Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV), and the RG-33 Heavily Armored Ground Ambulance (HAGA) as treatment and evacuation vehicles, with contracts to incorporate the newly designed M2A0 Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle (AMEV), a variant of the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (formerly known as the ATTV). [93][94][95]
Some navies operate ocean-going hospital ships to lend medical assistance in high casualty situations like wars or natural disasters.[23] These hospital ships fulfill the criteria of an ambulance (transporting the sick or injured), although the capabilities of a hospital ship are more on par with a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. In line with the laws of war, these ships can display a prominent Red Cross or Red Crescent to confer protection under the appropriate Geneva convention. However, this designation has not always protected hospital ships from enemy fire.[96]
| This section requires expansion with: examples and additional citations. |
When an ambulance is retired, it may be donated or sold to another EMS provider.[97][98] Alternately, it may be adapted into a support vehicle, such as a logistics unit. Some are sold, after their emergency equipment has been removed, to private businesses or to individuals who then use them as small recreational vehicles.
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ambulances |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Ambulance |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - ambulance
v. tr. - køre på hospitalet
Français (French)
n. - ambulance
v. tr. - transporter en ambulance
Deutsch (German)
n. - Krankenwagen, Ambulanz
v. - einen Krankenwagen fahren
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ασθενοφόρο, νοσοκομειακό (όχημα)
Português (Portuguese)
n. - ambulância (f), hospital (m) ambulante (Mil.)
Русский (Russian)
машина скорой помощи
Español (Spanish)
n. - ambulancia
v. tr. - ambular
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ambulans
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
救护车, 以救护车运送
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 救護車
v. tr. - 以救護車運送
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 야전병원, 구급차
v. tr. - 환자 운반차로 나르다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 救急車, 傷病者運搬車
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) سيارة اسعاف
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - אמבולנס, בית-חולים שדה (מיושן)
v. tr. - הוביל באמבולנס
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
To select your translation preferences click here.
| Briggs stretcher carriage (mining engineering) | |
| ambulance chaser | |
| hungry Liz |
| What is the ambulance address? | |
| What is the sound of an ambulance? | |
| Which god is on the ambulance? |
Copyrights:
![]() |
![]() | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() |
![]() | Gale's How Products Are Made. How Products are Made. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() | Oxford Companion to Military History. The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() |
![]() | Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; sign up free. Read more |
![]() |
![]() | AMG AllGame Guide. Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Game Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() | Sign Language Videos. Copyright © 2009 Signing Savvy, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() |
![]() | Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
| Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | ||
![]() |
![]() | Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() |
![]() | Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Ambulance. Read more |
![]() | Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
Mentioned in