Medical progress during WW2 Flashcards
How was blood storage improved throughout WW1?
In 1915, Richard Lewisohn discovered that adding sodium citrate to blood stopped clotting, allowing blood to be refrigerated for days.
In 1916, Francis Rous and James Turner discovered that adding citrate glucose to blood allowed it to be stored for months.
In 1917, Oswald Hope Robertson stored blood in the first ever blood bank, known then as a “blood depot”.
Name 2 new medical techniques developed during WW2.
1) 1915: the Thomas Splint was a secure way of setting wounds that reduced deaths from broken wounds to 20%.
2) Portable X-Rays (new invention - meant scanners could be transported in ambulance trucks).
How did WW1 spark the beginning of plastic surgery?
Harold Gillies developed a way of regrowing damaged facial tissue. Previously permanent damage now had the potential to be undone.
