Medicine In WW1

Question 1

During WW1, what important discovery helped blood transfusions?

Answer 1

Sodium citrate stopped blood clotting so it could be used outside of the body.

Question 2

When and where was the first blood bank in WW1?

Answer 2

The Battle of Cambria 1917.

Question 3

When was the Battle of the Somme?

Answer 3

July 1916

Question 4

How many casualties were there at the Third Battle of Ypres?

Answer 4

200,000

Question 5

How deep was an ideal trench?

Answer 5

Six or seven feet.

Question 6

Describe 5 features of a trench.

Answer 6

1) Barbed wire

2) Parados - A mound of earth/sandbags that raise the height of the back of the trench. Designed to protect soldiers from shell explosions behind the trench.

3) Parapet - Similar to a Parados but on the front of the trench lined with wooden planks and sandbags. Designed to be bullet proof.

4) Firing step - Men stood on here behind the parapet to fire their rifles into no man’s land.

5) Duckboards - wooden boards lining the floor of the trench.

Question 7

How far was a support trench behind the front trench?

Answer 7

60 to 90 metres.

Question 8

What are communication trenches?

Answer 8

Connected the trench lined to each other and to local roads and army depots behind the lines

Question 9

How far was the reserve tench from the front line?

Answer 9

350-500m

Question 10

Why was the supervision trench zig-zagged?

Answer 10

To stop enemy infantry firing alkng the trench and contain the explosion from shells.

Question 11

What was in the Arras tunnel network?

Answer 11

Electricity, accommodation and a hospital.

Question 12

What was the order of the chain of evacuation?

Answer 12

A regimental aid post

Advanced dressing station

Main dressing station

Casualty clearing stations

Base hospital.

Question 13

What was the role of the FANY?

Answer 13

Worked as a field ambulance, moving wounded men between base hospitals, medical posts, trains, barges and hospital ships.

Question 14

What 5 illnesses did trench conditions cause?

Answer 14

1) Trench foot - standing in water too long caused skin and tissue of feet to break down.

2) Dysentery - caused diarrhoea and dehydration.

3) Frostbite - extreme cold caused extremities to fall off.

4) Typhus

5) Trench fever

Question 15

What are 6 symptoms of shell shock?

Answer 15

Tiredness

Headaches

Nightmares

Loss of speech/hearing

Shaking

Complete mental breakdown

Question 16

Describe the Thomas splint?

Answer 16

This was a structure to hold a leg to stop joints from moving.

Popularised in WW1 by Robert Jones.

Question 17

How were blood transfusions done before the invention of blood banks?

Answer 17

Direct transfusions from one person to another.

Question 18

Describe two features of blood transfusions

Answer 18

One feature was the discovery of how to store blood. This was when physicians discovered that by adding sodium citrate to blood it could be stored in a refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Question 19

How useful are sources A and B for…

Answer 19

• Content
• Own knowledge

-Nature (what is it)

-Origin (when?)

-Purpose (why?)

Question 20

Study Source A

Answer 20

Detail (quote from source)

Question (how did x y z)

What source (RAMC)

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