History- medicine through time Flashcards
Name 2 features of the Thomas Splint
- Kept the leg stabilised while stretcher bearers moved through the evacuation chain.
- Prevented shrapnel from moving in the wounds which helped not to worsen the fracture
- Reduced mortality rate from 80% to 20%
- Reduced blood loss and shock
Gas Attacks- Chlorine, 2 facts
- First used by Germans in 1915
- Caused death by suffocating
- No previous experience with gas attacks on the western front
- British soldiers used urine soaked cloths to prevent inhaling it before gas masks were given in 1915
- Gas was temperamental- weather could change direction
Gas attacks- Phosgene, 2 facts
- First used near Ypres in 1915
- Similar to Chlorine however, killed quicker, within two days.
- Death by suffocating
Gas attacks- Mustard, 2 facts
- First used by Germans in 1917
- Odourless
- Killed within 12 hours
- Caused blisters inside and outside of the body
- Passed through clothing to burn the skin
What year did the Human Genome Project start?
1990
How did the human genome project help scientists?
- identify the purpose of each gene in the body
- gave scientists the blueprint of each human DNA which made it easier to spot mistakes in people who suffer from hereditary diseases
- doctors can identify genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome and diabetes
When was the NHS set up?
1948
X-rays, 2 facts
- invented in the 1890’s
- helped see inside the body without operating
- helped diagnose broken bones and any bullets / shrapnel on the Western front
- helped to target tumours and shrink them which is called radiotherapy
Blood transfusions- when was citrate glucose added to blood and what did it do?
Added- 1916
What it did- allowed to store blood for up to 4 weeks
What was the problem with blood transfusions before 1916?
- not being able to store blood caused shortages of it
- blood had to be used immediately or else it would clot
- donors and patients had to be in the same place at the same time to transfuse blood
What blood type could be used safely and why?
Blood type- type O
Why- it could be transfused to anybody as it reduced the risk of rejection
James Simpson - Chloroform
When did he discover it?
1947
What was chloroform a better anaesthetic than?
Ether (was flammable)
What was the problem with chloroform?
Easy to overdose on
What was invented which gave out controlled dosage of chloroform, and who invented it ?
What was invented- an inhaler
Who invented it- John Snow
Which queen used chloroform to give birth and when?
Queen- Victoria
When- 1953
What happened after the queen used chloroform to give birth ?
Criticism of chloroform dropped and it was more accepted
