Western Front Medicine Flashcards
When did ww1 break ou
august 1914
Name two of Britain’s allies?
France and Russia
What was the western front?
A line of trenches from the belgium coast to the swiss alps.
What was no mans land
Area of ground between two opposing trenches in WW1
what was the front line trench
where attacks would be made from
what was the reserve trench
where reserve troops would be mobilised for a counter attack.
what was the support trench
Men would retreat here if the front line trench was attacked
what was the communications trench
to transport men equipment and food supplies
what was a dug out
where men could take protective cover when needed
what was the parapet
a protective defense along the top of a trench
what were duck boards for
placed at the bottom of trenches to stop men standing in mud
what caused trench foot
standing in cold mud and water for a long time
what caused trench fever
contat with lice
how did they try to avoid trench foot
change socks whale oil on feet duck boards pumps
how did they try to avoid trench fever
delousing stations
what were the 3 gasses used in ww1
chlorine phosgene mustard
list the effects of phosgene gas on soldiers
affected the victims breathing they died from suffocation.
list the effects of chlorine gas on soldiers
affected the victims breathing they died from suffocation
list the effects of mustard gas on soldiers
caused blisters on skin, internal bleeding, affected the eyes and lungs
what did FANY do?
drive ambulances, drove supplies such as good and clothes to the front line, mobile bath unit for soldiers, set up cinemas to help the morale of soldiers.
what did RAMC do?
created the chain of evacuation, treated injured soldiers, manned the dressing stations, worked in casualty clearing stations.
who was the first in the chain of evacuation
stretcher bearers
who was the second in the chain of evacuation
regimental aid post
who was third in the chain of evacuation
dressing stations
who was fourth in the chain of evacuation?
casualty clearing station
who was the last in the chain of evacuation
base hospital
what happened at a regimental aid post?
gave immediate first aid, didnt treat serious injurys.
what happened at dressing stations
wounded wsere assessed and received basic medical treatments
what happend at casualty clearing stations
they would do operations on critical injuries
what happened at base hospitals
continuing treatment then sent back to uk or back to fight
what was triage
where the injured are separated into 3 groups for treatment based upon the urgency of the patients need for treatment.
what was wound excision or debridement?
cutting away dead and infected tissue to stop infection
what was the carrel dakin method for treating infections?
sterilised salt solution put in the wound through a tube
what was the final resort for treating the spread of infection
amputation
what was the thomas splint
it stopped joints from moving when transporting patients
what was the main use of x rays
to identify shell fragments and bullets in the body
list some problems of the use of x rays on the western front
they couldnt detect all objects in the body
how did they solve the issue of blood loss
1901 blood groups where discovered, 1915 sodium citrate discovered which stopped blood clotting, 1916 citrate glucose solution to blood so it could be stored, portable blood transfusion kit was designed.
how did they help brains surgery?
use of magnets to remove metal fragments
how did they develop plastic surgery?
developed by harold gillies
