Medicine Through Time-Western Front

Question 1

When and Who was the first blood transfusion carried out

Answer 1

in 1818, by james blundell

Question 2

What 2 problems were there with blood transfusions and how were they solved?

Answer 2

rejection-in 1901 karl landsteiner discovered the 1st blood types (A,B and O)
blood clots- in 1894,almroth wright found that certain chemicals could stop blood clotting although they had side effects such as convulsions

Question 3

Explain 3 elements of the trench system

Answer 3

barbed wire-to stop enemy troops from getting in
no mans land- area between both sides of trenches
dugouts-holes in the sides of the trenches where men could take cover

Question 4

How many troops were lost in the 1st battle of ypres

Answer 4

over 50000

Question 5

What is hill 60, what happened to it in April 1915

Answer 5

Hill 60 is a man made hill. In april 1915, the british placed 5 mines underneath it to blow it off and recapture it

Question 6

What was used for the 1st time in the second battle of Ypres, what did soldiers use to prevent this effect

Answer 6

chlorine gas-they covered their faces in urine soaked rags to act as gas masks

Question 7

List 2 facts about the battle of the somme (ju-n 1916)

Answer 7

• about 20,000 soldiers died on the 1st day alone

- use of tanks was attempted but they had low speed and were unreliable

Question 8

What happened in the battle of arras?

Answer 8

tunnelling companies built an underground network of caves in April 1917 24000 men attacked from the tunnels

Question 9

List 2 facts about the 3rd battle of ypres

Answer 9

• bad weather made the ground waterlogged, therefore many men drowned
• britain had around 240,000 casualties

Question 10

List a positive about the battle of Cambrai (1917)

Answer 10

There was the first large scale use of tanks, they could move over barbed wire and their machine guns were effective

Question 11

List 3 problems that came with the transportation of casualties

Answer 11

• heavy shelling and bombs created large craters and destroyed roads
• horse drawn carriages were shaky, which could sometimes make injuries worse
• the land used for war was previously farmland, meaning that bacteria from the fertilisers could be dangerous and infect wounds

Question 12

how were motorised ambulances funded

Answer 12

via public donations

Question 13

List the order of the chain of evacuation

Answer 13

stretcher bearers, regimental aid post, advanced/main dressing stations, casualty clearing stations, base hospitals

Question 14

What did the RAP do?

Answer 14

they gave immediate first aid- the aimed to get as many men as possible back to fighting

Question 15

Where were dressing stations located? What part of the RAMC did they belong to

Answer 15

In abandoned buildings, bunkers and tents. They belonged to the field ambulance

Question 16

How may patients was each unit designed for, how many did they end up dealing with

Answer 16

150- they ended up dealing with several hundred

Question 17

Where were casualty clearing stations often situated?

Answer 17

near railway lines

Question 18

Explain each element of the triage system used in casualty clearing stations

Answer 18

• the walking wounded were treated and then sent back to the battlefield
• those with no chance of survival were made comfortable-but medical resources were not spent on them
• those requiring hospital treatment were sent along to base hospitals

Question 19

Give 3 details about base hospitals

Answer 19

• Soldiers were split up onto wards depending on which illness they had
• they were situated by the coast, so that idf needed they could be shipped back to england
• ccs ended up doing more of the treatment as they were closer to the battlefield

Question 20

What was the role of the FANY?(est october 1914)

Answer 20

the FANY were female volunteers who drove ambulance wagons and provided emergency aid.They paved the way for other woman (eg VAD) to take part in the war

Question 21

what is the RAMC

Answer 21

the royal army medical corps was the sector of the army which performed medical care

Question 22

when was the underground hospital at arras created

Answer 22

november 1916

Question 23

List the 6 things that Thompson’s Cave had?

Answer 23

• a mortuary
• rest stations for stretcher bearers
• 700 spaces where stretchers could be placed as beds
• electricity and piped water
• waiting rooms for the wounded and an operating theatre

Question 24

what happened to the underground hospital

Answer 24

it was abandoned when its water supply was destroyed in he battle of arras 1917

Question 25

list 3 details about theses conditions

a) trench fever b) trench foot c)shell shock

Answer 25

a) caused by body lice , symptoms were flu-like, to combat it delousing stations were set up
b) caused by standing in cold water or mud for a long time, swelling of the feet, eventually leading to gangrene, to combat it men were told to keep dry, and in serious cases amputation was required
c) a response to trauma on the battle field, may suffer from nightmares, loss of speech and headaches, was often misunderstood-many took it as cowardice

Question 26

what is gas gangrene?

Answer 26

an infection of an open wound by bacteria in the soil, caused tissue to die and build up of gas-amputation was the only way to stop this

Question 27

Give 3 symptoms of Gas injuries

Answer 27

burning skin, internal and external blisters, death by suffocation

Question 28

give 2 stats surrounding shrapnel and bullet injuries

Answer 28

58% of wounds were cased by shells and shrapnel

39% of wounds caused by bullets

Question 29

when were steel brodie helmets introduced

Answer 29

1915

Question 30

Describe 3 details about these elements of surgery and medicine

a) thomas splint
b) infection
c) mobile x ray units

Answer 30

a) kept limbs and joints still during surgery, increased surgery survival rates from 20% to 82%
b) 3 main ways of dealing with infection. Debridement(removing dead tissue), The Carrel-Dakin method(spraying a salty solution into the wound) and amputation- by 1918 240,000 men had lost limbs
c) x-rays couldn’t identify all material in the body, they could only be used for an hour before they overheated, and they took several minutes

Question 31

How were blood transfusions administered on the western front

Answer 31

through a stringe and a tube from the donor to the patient

Question 32

Where were blood transfusions typically carried out, how was this improved

Answer 32

they were carried out in base hospitals when they were first established, and then in casualty clearing stations in 1917.
Keynes from the RAMC created a portable blood transfusion kit so that transfusions can be carried out near the front line

Question 33

Give 3 examples of people who helped to solve the problem with storing blood DURING the war

Answer 33

• 1915, richard lewishion found out that adding sodium nitrate to the blood stopped it clotting. richard hull found out that blood could last for 2 days if refrigerated
• 1917, frances rous and james turner discovered a citrate glucose solution that could help blood be stored up to 4 weeks
• 1917 Oswald hope robinson built a carrying case for bottles of blood

Question 34

List 3 issues that came with brain surgery

Answer 34

• general anaesthetic caused the brain to swell
• few doctors have experience with brain surgery
• it was hard to move unconscious or confused patients through the chain of evacuation

Question 35

How did Harvey Cushing help solve issues with brain surgery

Answer 35

he used a magnet to remove metal fragments from the brain, he used local rather than general anaesthetic because this was safer

Question 36

Where was plastic surgery carried out, who developed methods for these to be carried out?

Answer 36

Plastic surgery was carried out back in britain, the main place for this was Queen’s hospital in Kent and by the end of 1917 almost 12,000 operations had been carried out