WW1 medicine on the western front 1914-1918 Flashcards
when did Britain declare war on Germany
4th Augusts 1914
when did the first battle of Ypres happen and what happened
October - November 1914
the British managed to hold onto Ypres, which was vital in maintaining access and control of the English channel ports, but the Germans gained ground
when did battle of hill 60 happen and what happened
April 1915
the British tunnelled into and under the hill and exploded five mines from the tunnels, which enabled them to take the hill
when did the second battle of Ypres happen and what happened
April - May 1915
the Germans made very slight gains towards Ypres, the battle was notable as being the first time chlorine gas was used, it was first used by Germans
when did the third battle of Ypres happen and what happened
July - November 1917
the British used a creeping barrage to make small gains to break out of the Ypres salient, the awful weather left the ground waterlogged and many drowned
what did the battle of Cambrai happen and what happened
November -December 1917
this battle was notable or the first to use large-scale use of tanks, which were successful but were not backed up so the British were forced back
when did the battle of Arras happen and what happened
April - May 1917
1916 British linked and expanded underground tunnels, quarries and caves for the shelter and movement of troops
the tunnels were used to launch the battle which ended with a little progress and high number of casualties on both sides
when did the battle of Sommes happen and what happened
July - November 1916
notable for extremely high number of causalities on both sides, the battle on both sides saw two new strategies by the British , the creeping barrage and the first use of tanks - both with little impact
name three aspects of the trench system
any three
trenches formed zig-zag patterns
all three rows of the trenches were linked by communication trenches
the support trenches was where troops would retreat to from the front lines
dugouts were holes in the side of the trench for thr the troops to take cover
how were early trenches constructed
hurriedly dug by using existing ditches or banks , they were constantly maintained and improved with drains and steps
the condition of the terrain heavily depended on weather and the place it was in, give two reasons why moving around could be difficult
the terrains would often be waterlogged, lots of crates and holes from explosions
the trenches themselves were muddy and very crowded
name 4 illnesses/types of injuries soldiers faced
trench fever gas attacks shell shock trench foot head injuries bullets high-explosive shells and shrapnel
how did soldiers protect themselves from gas attacks before gas masks
cotton pads soaked in urine
what sort of injuries came from gas attacks
(mostly temporary) blindness, coughing and burns
what improvements where made to prevent head injuries in 1915
soldiers soft cap where swapped for Brodie helmets
what were most head injuries caused by
shrapnel
what were the symptoms of shell shock
fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares and impaired sight and hearing
when were victims of shell shock usually diagnosed
when a soldier was unable to function and no obvious cause could be identified
what were some sufferers of shell shock accused of
cowardice
what were the symptoms of trench fever
flu-like symptoms which lasted for months and keep reoccurring
what type of diseases was trench fever
a louse-borne disease
how were sufferers of trench fever treated
in 1918 since its louse-borne they were deloused
what was the cause of trench foot
standing in waterlogged trenches
what could trench foot lead to
gangrene which would be treated by amputation
what things were done to prevent soldiers from getting trench foot
they were given whale oil and spare socks
also pumps were installed to drain trenches and duckboards were added for soldiers to step on to keep their feet above water
what was responsible for most deaths
high-explosive shells and shrapnel
why were wound infections are big problem
the soil on the western front contained tetanus and gas gangrene bacteria which would enter the wound
what treatments were available for wound infections
late 1914 soldiers got tetanus injections but there was no prevention for gas gangrene
who were the main medical workers
RAMC , the Royal army medical corps and FANY , the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
the RAMC were medical workers
FANY were volunteers who drive ambulances, cooked and cleaned
what was the Thompson’s cave
an underground hospital at arras, it was very close to the front line in the tunnels under the town
what did the underground hospital have
700 hospital beds, an operation theatre and mortuary as well as running water and electricity
give four problems with transport
difficult terrain which meant only stretcher-bearers and horse wagons could be used
many railroads and roads had been destroyed
constant shelling and artillery fire made recovery of the injured very difficult
initially, no motors ambulances were sent and there was not enough horses to cope
what helped with getting more motor ambulances
public appeal in Britain raised money for 512 motor ambulances
what are the four stages of the chain evacuation
1) the regimental aid post
2) field ambulance
3) casualty clearing station
4) base hospital
what happens at each of the four stages of chain evacuation
1) close to the front line, gives first aid helped by stretcher-bearers sends more serious injuries to next stage
2) mobile unit for the RAMC, which set up the dressing station, in derelict buildings, dugouts or tents, stations were staffed with medical workers, orderlies, stretcher-bearers and nurses, serious cases were sent straight to the next station
3) the CCS (casualty clearing station) they were larger and better equipped, situated several miles from the western front, with doctors and nurses who prioritised life threatening injuries
4) situated near ports on the coast, had many medical staff ,including doctors who specialised in certain treatments, patients could stay for some time before being sent back to the front line or home by ship for further treatments
name the three important developments in medicine in the 20th century
x-rays
blood transfusion
aseptic surgery
who discovered the x-ray
Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895
what were the problems with the early x-ray machine
photography was at an early stage so taking x-rays required keeping still for a long time
high doses of radiation were released and patients were burnt and lost hair
large machines were to heavy to be moved easily
when was the first blood transfusion performed and what was the problem with it
17th , doctors carried out blood transfusions between humans and animals but people rarely survived
who performed the first human to human blood transfusion, when and what was the problem
James Blundell between 1818 ad 1829
blood has to be transferred directly from donor to recipient as it couldn’t be stored, and only half the patients survived because of lack of knowledge of blood groups
who discovered blood groups, when
Karl Landsteiner in 1901 discovered three blood groups , in 1902 his colleagues discovered a fourth, they discovered that blood transfusions only work between people of the same blood group
whose work helped the establishment of aseptic surgery
Joseph Lister
what helped with preventing wounds getting infected at the dressing station and CCS
1917 carrel-dakin method of running salt solution through the wound by tubes
what happened when the wound was deep and very infected
surgery was developed to remove damaged tissue a well as traces of bullets or shrapnel
why were blood transfusions limited
the blood couldn’t be stored and blood loss led to shock which often caused death to patients
who discovered how to store blood, when and how
Richard Lewisohn in 1915, discovered that adding sodium citrate to blood stopped it clotting so it could be stored and Richard Weil stored it in refrigerators to store fro much longer
what discovery meant blood could be stored for much longer, and who by
adding citrate glucose to blood in 1916 by Francis Rous and James Turner
why was the battle of Cambrai important advancement for blood transfusions
Oswald Hope Robertson stored 22 units of blood in the first ‘blood depot’ which he used to treat Canadian soldiers suffering from shock and demonstrating its potential
what was the Thomas Splint
1915 the Thomas splint kept the leg rigid reducing blood loss, death rate dropped from 80% to 20%
why was the number of brain and facial injuries help
the number of brain injuries meant having to develop new techniques which improved success rates and the number of facial injuries led to huge improvements in plastic surgery led by Harold Gillies
why were x-rays essential before operations
it helped locate th bullets and shrapnel before operating
what were the limitations of mobile x-ray machines
the images were not as clear as those from the static machines
