Chapter 11 The impact of war and technology on surgery

Question 1

Why is wartime one of the periods when medical techniques and technology are needed the most?

Answer 1

Better medical services mean more soldiers have a chance of surviving, allowing them to return to service and increasing a nation’s chances of victory

Question 2

What were some new weapons used in the two world wars?

Answer 2

High explosive shells, gas bombs, hand grenades and machine guns

Question 2

When did the First World War occur?

Answer 2

1914 - 1918

Question 2

How many military deaths did World War I cause?

The book just states how many people were killed in the First World War

Answer 2

Over 10 million

Question 3

When did the Second World War occur?

Answer 3

1939 - 1945

Question 4

How many military deaths did World War II cause?

Answer given as number of people killed, military deaths not specified

Answer 4

Over 20 million

Question 5

What is shell shock now known as?

Answer 5

PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder

Question 6

What was shell shock?

Answer 6

Psychological damage caused by the strain of war

Question 7

What were some effects of shell shock?

Answer 7

Panic attacks, uncontrollable shaking, inability to speak or move

Question 8

Who discovered blood groups?

Answer 8

Karl Landsteiner

Question 9

When were blood groups discovered?

Answer 9

1900

Question 10

When was it discovered that glucose and sodium citrate stopped blood from clotting on contact with the air?

Answer 10

1914

Question 11

Who discovered that glucose and sodium citrate stopped blood from clotting on contact with the air?

Answer 11

Albert Hustin

Question 12

When were X-rays discovered?

Answer 12

1895

Question 13

Who was Harold Gillies?

Answer 13

A London-based army doctor

Question 14

What did Harold Gillies do?

Answer 14

His work led to the development of plastic surgery

Question 15

When did Harold Gillies develop plastic surgery?

Answer 15

During the First World War

Question 16

When did Queen’s Hospital in Kent open?

Answer 16

1917

Question 17

By 1921, how many beds did Queen’s Hospital in Kent provide for soldiers with severe facial wounds?

Answer 17

Over 1000 beds

Question 18

How many servicemen had Gillies and his colleagues treated by 1921?

Answer 18

Over 5000

Question 19

During the First World War, what did surgeons discover was the best way to prevent lethal wound infections?

Answer 19

Cut away the infected flesh and soak the wound in salty (saline) solution

Question 20

What was the Army Leg Splint (or Keller-Blake Splint)?

Answer 20

A technique which elevated and extended a broken leg “in traction”, which helped the bones knit together more securely

Question 21

When was the Army Leg Splint developed?

Answer 21

World War I

Question 22

In what ways did wars (like WWI) have a negative impact on medical progress?

Answer 22

Thousands of doctors taken from normal work to treat casualties; some medical research stopped to concentrate on war effort; warfare caused destruction of libraries and places of learning, research lost

Question 23

What were areas of medical progress which World War I helped develop?

Answer 23

Shell shock, blood transfusions, X-rays, plastic surgery, infection, broken bones

Question 24

When was the British National Blood Transfusion Service opened?

Answer 24

1946

Question 25

Who was Dwight Harken?

Answer 25

An American army surgeon stationed in London during WWII

Question 26

What did Dwight Harken do?

Answer 26

He cut into beating hearts and removed bullets and bits of shrapnel using his bare hands

Question 27

When did Dwight Harken do his work which would later contribute to heart surgery’s development?

Answer 27

World War II

Question 28

Who proposed a free National Health Service for all?

Answer 28

William Beveridge, a civil servant

Question 29

When was a free National Health Service for all proposed?

Answer 29

1942

Question 30

What was diphtheria?

Answer 30

A bacterial infection which killed many children

Question 31

When was a national immunisation programme against diphtheria launched in Britain?

Answer 31

World War II

Question 32

When had enough penicillin been produced to treat all Allied forces in Europe during World War II?

Answer 32

1944

Question 33

During World War II, how many children were evacuated from Britain’s towns and cities into the countryside?

Answer 33

Over 1 million children

Question 34

Why did the diets of people in Britain improve in some ways during World War II?

Answer 34

Shortages of some foods made the government encourage people to grow their own food, which was very healthy

Question 35

Who was Archibald Mclndoe?

Answer 35

A doctor from New Zealand, and a cousin of Harold Gillies

Question 36

Where did Archibald Mclndoe trained and work in?

Answer 36

Britain

Question 37

What did Archibald Mclndoe do?

Answer 37

He used new drugs like penicillin to prevent infection when treating pilots with horrific facial injuries

Question 38

What are some technological breakthroughs which occurred after the world wars?

Answer 38

Improved anaesthetics; better antiseptics; drugs preventing organ rejection; keyhole surgery; microsurgery

Question 39

For how long has radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) been used for the treatment of cancer and other diseases?

Answer 39

Over 100 years

Question 40

According to estimation, how many cancer patients will receive some type of radiation therapy during the course of their treatment?

Book published in 2021

Answer 40

About half

Question 41

When was a laser first used in an eye operation?

Answer 41

1987

Question 42

What are lasers increasingly used for?

Answer 42

Eye surgery (still common); treating skin conditions, clearing blocked arteries; removing tumours and ulcers, controlling bleeding