<p>The term 'debridement' was first used by French military surgeons in the 18th century and literally means ‘unbridling’. It was used to describe a treatment similar to fasciotomy for what would now be described as compartment syndrome[1]. This initial definition did not involve the removal of any tissue from the wound. Historically, there has been an ongoing debate between military surgeons about the best way to treat traumatic wounds, and by the end of the first world war, a consensus was reached that wounds should be explored surgically and that all foreign material and devitalised tissue should be removed from the wound — the term debridement was resurrected to describe this process[1].</p>
