Medicine on the Western front 1914-18 Flashcards
When was the Battle of the Somme?
How many casualties occured to British forces on the first day?
July 1916
600,000
Why were trenches zig-zag shaped?
To contain shrapnel blasts and confuse tunnellers from enemy forces
What was the order of trenches?
Front line trench > Support trench > Reserve trench
(with communication trenches inbetween)
What were some features of trenches?
Six or seven feet deep
Built up around the sides with parados - mounds of earth - to protect from shell explosions behind trenches
Firing step - for rifles to fire into No Man’s Land
What is the order of the Chain of Evacuation?
Stretcher-bearers > Regimental Aid Post > Dressing stations > Casualty Clearing stations > Base hospitals
What was performed at Regimental Aid Posts?
Basic first aid
What happened at dressing stations?
Triage, having collected men from horse-drawn ambulances/stretcher-bearers
What happened at Casualty Clearing Stations?
Surgical and medical treatment, some x-ray units
What were base hospitals often originally?
What did many of them turn into?
Schools and churches
Specialised hospitals e.g. for gas attacks
What did the FANY do?
What were they trained in?
Worked in field ambulances, ran mobile soup kitchens/bathing vehicles, hospital canteens
First aid, signalling, and driving
How was trench foot caused?
How was it treated/prevented?
Standing in flooded trenches for too long
Treatment - if gangrenous, amputation
Prevention - whale oil and changing socks several times a day
What was dysentry?
What was it caused by?
Diarrhoea and dehydration
Latrines and dirty water
What was shell shock?
Psychological response to death, destruction, and military bombardment
Characterised by shaking, blindness, hearing loss, mental breakdown
When was chlorine gas first used?
What did it cause?
April 1915 (1st Battle of Ypres)
Suffocation - irritation of throat and eyes
When was mustard gas first used?
What did it cause?
July 1917
Blistering, burning, and breathing difficulties. Also stuck to clothes
Trenches did not expose the body, but the did expose the head. What did this cause?
Shrapnel injuries - tearing through flesh, embedding into brain. Skull fractures and other injuries
Why was infection so common in trenches?
Think: where were they often built?
Trenches were mostly built on farmland, so fertiliser made trenches waterlogged and thriving with bacteria
Bodies were also left to decompose in there
Latrines (holes used as toilets) also spread bacteria
What infections were caused by trenches?
Gas gangrene, sepsis, tetanus
Methods to fight infection were undeveloped at the start of WWI. What were some of these methods?
Anti-tetanus serum, amputation, bandages soaked in carbolic acid
What was irrigation?
Who first carried it out, and when?
Flushing antiseptic into wounds before closing them
Henry Dakin, 1915
How many mobile x-ray units did the British have?
Hint: not many
14
What was the Thomas Splint?
A splint strapped around the leg to avoid internal damage in those with a fractured femur
Why was the Thomas Splint so significant?
By 1918, only 20% of people with a fractured femur died on the front line
What technique replaced direct blood transfusion?
Why was it limited?
Syringe-cannula technique - blood was taken directly from a donor using a syringe and transferred into the person who needed it
Blood could clot in the syringe
The first anti-coagulant was discovered in 1914. What is an anti-coagulant?
A substance that stops blood from clotting outside the body
Who pioneered the creation of the blood bank?
Which battle was it set up in preparation for?
Captain Oswald Robertson
Battle of Cambrai 1917
During the 3rd Battle of Ypres, it rained every day, except…
three
