Final answer:
The difficult construction of the Panama Canal was largely due to tropical diseases and challenging environmental conditions. Efforts to mitigate these issues included improved medical practices and modern equipment, but the endeavor still resulted in significant loss of life during the American phase of the project.
Step-by-step explanation:
The construction of the Panama Canal was a difficult endeavor for several reasons. One of the primary challenges was combating deadly tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever, which afflicted many workers due to the area's mosquito population. The French had previously tried to construct the canal but failed largely because of these diseases. In addition, tropical rains, flooding, and mudslides posed significant environmental challenges to the construction effort.
Under American leadership, medical professionals applied various strategies, including fumigation and the use of mosquito nets following Dr. Walter Reed's discovery of the correlation between mosquitoes and the spread of malaria and yellow fever. These measures, along with advanced infrastructure and modern equipment such as rail-mounted steam shovels, eventually allowed for the successful completion of the engineering feat.
Despite the use of modern technologies for those times, workers still had to excavate a vast amount of earth, which made the process arduous and time-consuming. The 10-year American phase of the project also saw additional loss of life, with around 5,600 workers perishing during the construction.