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History 📜 > WW1 Medicine > Flashcards

WW1 Medicine Flashcards

1
Q

What was the Western Front

A

Area in Belgium and France where the Allies fought Germany from 1914-1918

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2
Q

What was the RAMC

A

Royal Army Medical Corps

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3
Q

What was FANY

A

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps

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4
Q

Chain of evacuation system

A

First aid close to front line given at regimental aid posts (RAPs)
Dressing stations collected men from RAPs
Casualty Clearing Stations (CCSs) were for serious injuries
Base hospitals - in real buildings, effectively normal hospitals

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5
Q

Role of stretcher bearers

A

Transport wounded through relay posts until they reached a medical post or a transport link

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6
Q

What were the main areas of advancement for medicine in WW1

A

Plastic surgery
Blood transfusions
X-rays

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7
Q

Why was the Ypres Salient the scene of many battles

A

It was the way to ports of Calais and Dunkirk (Germans wanted to capture these ports to cut off British supplies)

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8
Q

Why was the Ypres Salient vulnerable

A

Germans had higher ground - could see Allied movements and build defences

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9
Q

What was Hill 60

A

Man made hill where British used tunnelling and mines to blow up the hill

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10
Q

When was the first battle of Ypres

A

October - November 1914

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11
Q

Significance of second battle of Ypres

A

First use of chlorine gas by Germans

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12
Q

When did second battle of Ypres take place

A

April - May 1915

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13
Q

When did third battle of Ypres take place

A

July - November 1917

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14
Q

What was the Ypres Salient

A

Area around Ypres in Belgium where many battles took place

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15
Q

When was the battle of the Somme

A

July - November 1916

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16
Q

On the first day of the Somme how many British casualties and deaths were there

A

60,000 casualties and 20,000 dead

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17
Q

In total at the Battle of the Somme, there were ___ casualties
What was the result of this

A

400,000
Enormous pressure on medical services

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18
Q

When was the Battle of Arras

A

April 1917

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19
Q

What was the system below Arras

A

Network of tunnels (made easy by chalky ground)
Rooms created with running water and electricity
Hospital

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20
Q

The underground tunnels at Arras were used for…

A

Safety
Hospital
Allowing troops to front line in secrecy

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21
Q

When was the Battle of Cambrai

A

October 1917

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22
Q

What happened at the Battle of Cambrai

A

450 tanks used by Allies to launch surprise assault
Not enough infantry support - British lost the ground they’d taken

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23
Q

Front line trench

A

Nearest enemy
Where soldiers would shoot / enter no man’s land from

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24
Q

Command trench

A

10-20m behind firing line

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25
Q

Support trench

A

200-500m behind front line

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26
Q

Reserve trench

A

100m behind support trench
Reserve troops here to mount counterattack if enemy entered front line

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27
Q

Communication trench

A

Linked front line with command, support + reserve trenches

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28
Q

Why was it difficult to move through trenches with wounded

A

They contained equipment and men

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29
Q

How did communication impact helping the wounded

A

Communication about wounded difficult, especially during major battles

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30
Q

Why was it dangerous to collect wounded from No Man’s Land

A

Under fire
Muddy conditions

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31
Q

Trench fever was transmitted by

A

Body lice

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32
Q

Symptoms of trench fever

A

Flu-like symptoms
High temp, headache, shivering, aching muscles

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33
Q

Treatment of trench fever

A

Drugs trialled eg quinine without success
Passing electrical current through affected area was used effectively

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34
Q

Prevention of trench fever

A

By 1918 cause had been identified as lice
Clothes disinfected
Delousing stations set up

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35
Q

Impact of trench fever

A

Impacted nearly half a million men

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36
Q

Cause of trench foot

A

Mud and waterlogged trenches

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37
Q

Symptoms of trench foot

A

Painful swelling in feet
Tight boots added to problem - restricted blood flow
Gangrene would set in later

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38
Q

Gangrene definition

A

When body tissue decomposes due to loss of blood supply

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39
Q

Treatment of trench foot

A

Soldiers advised to clean and dry feet
Amputation in worst cases

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40
Q

Prevention of trench foot

A

Changing socks and keeping feet dry
Rubbing whale oil into feet to protect them

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41
Q

Impact of trench foot

A

Winter 1914-15 over 20,000 men affected

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42
Q

Cause of shell-shock

A

Stressful conditions of war

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43
Q

Symptoms of shell-shock

A

Tiredness, nightmares, headaches
Uncontrollable shaking
Mental breakdown

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44
Q

Treatment of shell-shock

A

Not well understood in WW1
Mainly prescribed rest
Some received treatment back in Britain

45
Q

Impact of shell-shock

A

Estimated 80,000 troops experienced it
Some accused of cowardice + shot

46
Q

Shrapnel definition

A

Hollow shell filled with steel balls or lead, with gunpowder and a time fuse

47
Q

Features of rifles

A

Automatic rapid fire rather than one bullet at a time
Bullets pointed so drove deeper into body

48
Q

Features of machine guns

A

Faster than rifles
500 rounds a minute
Devastated attacking forces
Bullets would pierce organs and fracture bones

49
Q

Features of artillery

A

Cannons —> bigger + more powerful
Bombardments continuous, could last weeks or months
Artillery fire = half of all casualties

50
Q

Features of shrapnel

A

Exploded mid air above enemy
Effective against troops advancing across No Man’s Land
Most cases = injured arms and legs

51
Q

Shells and shrapnel were responsible for what % of wounds

A

58%

52
Q

Features of chlorine gas

A

First used 1915 (Germans)
Death by suffocation
July 1915 gas masks given to British troops
Before this urination on handkerchiefs

53
Q

Features of phosgene gas

A

First used 1915 (Germans)
Faster acting than chlorine but similar effects
Kill exposed person within 2 days

54
Q

Features of mustard gas

A

First used 1917 (Germans)
Odourless
Worked in 12 hours
Blisters + burned skin through clothing

55
Q

Gas was the cause of less than __% of British deaths

A

5%

56
Q

Sufferers of gas were given…

A

Oxygen

57
Q

Why was gas not used regularly as a weapon

A

Hard to target particular place with it

58
Q

What were the stages of the evacuation route

A

Stretcher bearers
Regimental aid post
Field ambulance and dressing station
Casualty clearing station
Base hospitals

59
Q

Each battalion had how many stretcher bearers?

A

16

60
Q

How many men did it take to carry a stretcher

A

4

61
Q

Define triage

A

A system of splitting the wounded into groups according to who needed the most urgent attention

62
Q

What was a field ambulance

A

Large mobile medical unit with medical officers, support staff and nurses

63
Q

What kinds of facilities did base hospitals have

A

Operating theatres
X-ray departments
Specialist areas for gas poisoning

64
Q

From the base hospital where were most patients sent

A

Back to Britain in hospital trains

65
Q

By Nov 1915 how many motor ambulances were there in France

A

250

66
Q

Ambulance ___ were introduced to carry up to ___ casualties

A

Trains
800

67
Q

How many were wounded in the first 3 days of the Battle of Arras

A

Over 7000

68
Q

The Arras hospital had what kind of facilities

A

700 beds
Operating theatres

69
Q

All medical officers belonged to…

A

The RAMC

70
Q

How did membership of RAMC increase

A

9000 in 1914
113,000 in 1918

71
Q

Initially the nurses on the front line were…

A

Well-trained Queen Alexandra’s nurses

72
Q

How did the attitude towards volunteer nurses change

A

Initially turned away by govt
Attitude changed as number of casualties increased

73
Q

The work of FANY volunteers could involve

A

Professional nursing in operating theatres
Cleaning
Ambulance drivers
Carrying supplies to front
Driving motorised kitchens to supply food

74
Q

By 1900, most operations were carried out using

A

Aseptic methods

75
Q

Why was it not possible to carry out aseptic surgery on the western front

A

Treatment needed to be portable

76
Q

Define gas gangrene

A

Infection that produces gas in gangrenous wounds

77
Q

Why was infection likely

A

Wounds exposed to soil containing fertiliser

78
Q

Define debridement

A

Cutting away of dead, damaged and infected tissue around the wound

79
Q

What were 3 methods for treating infection

A

Debridement
Carrel-Dakin method
Amputation

80
Q

Carrel-Dakin method

A

Using sterilised salt solution in the wound through a tube

81
Q

Disadvantages of Carrel-Dakin method

A

Solution only lasted 6 hours
Had to be made as it was needed - difficult at times of high demand

82
Q

By 1918, how many men had lost limbs?

A

240,000

83
Q

Men with a gunshot or shrapnel wound had a __% chance of survival in 1915

A

20%

84
Q

Why was the survival rate for gunshot / shrapnel wounds so low in 1915

A

The wounds created a compound fracture
Particularly dangerous when thigh bone (femur) fractured - damaged muscle + caused major bleeding into thigh

85
Q

When did the Thomas splint start being used

A

From 1916

86
Q

What was the Thomas Splint

A

New type of splint for wounded limbs
Stopped two joints moving

87
Q

How did the Thomas splint impact survival rate

A

Went from 20% to 82%

88
Q

What were x-rays used for

A

Locating bullets and shrapnel

89
Q

What were the problems with x-rays on the western front

A

Couldn’t detect all objects in the body (some items eg clothing were unnoticed until the operation)
Had to stay still for several mins
Tubes fragile + overheated quickly - had to cool down after 1 hour

90
Q

The solution to x-rays overheating was

A

To use three machines in rotation

91
Q

How many mobile x-ray units operated in the British sector

A

6

92
Q

What was a mobile x-ray unit

A

Portable x-ray unit that could be moved around western front in a truck

93
Q

Advantage of mobile x-ray unit

A

X-ray unit could go to the battle rather than wait for soldiers to be transported

94
Q

Disadvantage of mobile x-ray units

A

Quality of x-rays not as good but sufficient to locate bullets / shrapnel

95
Q

The first experiments in blood transfusion were performed in ___ by ___

A

1819
James Blundell

96
Q

Define blood transfusion

A

Blood taken from a healthy person and given to another person

97
Q

Problems with early use of blood transfusions

A

Donor had to be present as blood could not be stored
Blood clotted and blocked tube
Danger of infection

98
Q

Who designed the portable blood transfusion kit

A

Geoffrey Keynes

99
Q

What year were blood transfusions used at base hospitals from

A

1915

100
Q

What year blood transfusions used at casualty clearing stations from

A

1917

101
Q

What was discovered in 1915 to help the problem of storing blood

A

Adding sodium citrate allowed blood to be stored + clotting prevented

102
Q

What was discovered in 1916 that helped solve problem of storing blood

A

Adding citrate glucose solution allowed blood to be stored for up to 4 weeks

103
Q

Define general anaesthetic

A

Putting a patient to sleep during an operation

104
Q

Define local anaesthetic

A

Area being operated numbed to prevent pain - patient awake

105
Q

Stored blood was used at which 1917 battle

A

Battle of Cambrai

106
Q

How was brain surgery developed

A

Magnet to remove metal fragments
Local anaesthetic instead of general - prevented brain from swelling and decreased risks

107
Q

How was plastic surgery developed?

A

Harold Gillies worked on facial reconstruction
Skin grafts developed - skin taken from other part of body + used to repair wound

108
Q

Two features of dressing stations

A

Treat minor injuries so soldiers could return to front line; more serious injuries treated further down chain
Staffed by medical officers and stretcher bearers - after 1915 also nurses

109
Q

Two features of casualty clearing stations

A

Had operating theatres, x-ray machines and hospital wards, allowing more advanced treatment for major injuries
Normally several miles behind front lines - ensured safety of wounded soldiers

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