WW1 Medicine

Question 1

When was WW1?

Answer 1

1914 -1918

Question 2

When was gas used for the first time?

Answer 2

Second Battle of Ypres

Question 3

What were conditions like in the Third Battle of Ypres?

Answer 3

Very muddy - some even drowned in the mud

Question 4

How many died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme?

Answer 4

20,000 killed and 57,000 casualties

Question 5

When were tanks first used?

Answer 5

First used at Somme but lots of technical problems, first successful large scale use was Cambrai

Question 6

What was the ground like at Arras?

Answer 6

Chalky which allowed them to tunnel 2.5 miles in 5 months

Question 7

How many beds were there in the underground hospital at Arras (Thompson’s Cave)?

Answer 7

700

Question 8

Name the symptoms of Trench Foot

Answer 8

Swelled and painful feet, likely to develop into gangrene

Question 9

Name three preventions of trench foot

Answer 9

Whale Oil, Changing socks twice a day, mechanical pumps to reduce flooding?

Question 10

Name the symptoms of trench fever

Answer 10

Headaches, fever, rashes

Question 11

What causes trench fever?

Answer 11

Lice

Question 12

How was trench fever prevented?

Answer 12

clothing and bedding were disinfected
bathhouses were built
louse-repellent gel was given to some soldiers to put on their clothes and bodies
soldiers picked lice out of their clothing by hand or ran a lit match down their seams

Question 13

What is shellschock?

Answer 13

Mental disorder (PTSD) caused by prolonged exposure to stressful situations

Question 14

Give three ways gas gangrene was treated

Answer 14

Carrell-Dakin Method
Wound Excision
Amputation

Question 15

What is dysentery?

Answer 15

Disease from dirty water that causes diarrhea

Question 16

Name three different types of gas used in attacks

Answer 16

Chlorine, Mustard, Phosgene

Question 17

What were the symptoms of gas attacks?

Answer 17

Caused suffocation, which led soldiers to have difficulty breathing and sometimes caused death
Burned the skin, causing internal and external blisters

Question 18

What is the order of the chain of evacuation?

Answer 18

Regimental Aid Post (RAP) - Dressing Station (ADS/MDS) - Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) - Base Hospital

Question 19

What treatment was given at the RAP?

Answer 19

Emergency First Aid

Question 20

How many stretcher bearers were their per battalion?

Answer 20

16

Question 21

What system was used at the casualty clearing station to categories the wounded?

Answer 21

Triage System

Question 22

Where were base hospitals usually located?

Answer 22

Close to the coast

Question 23

Who were the RAMC?

Answer 23

All ranks of men who looked after the wounded e.g. doctors and stretcher bearers?

Question 24

How many men were in the RAMC in 1914 and 1918?

Answer 24

9,000 - 131,000

Question 25

What does FANY stand for?

Answer 25

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Question 26

Who invented the Thomas Splint?

Answer 26

Hugh Owen Thomas

Question 27

Name two problems with the mobile x-ray units

Answer 27

Fragile tubes overheated, took a long time to set up, could not detect all items in the body e.g. clothing

Question 28

What chemical can be added to blood to prevent clotting?

Answer 28

Sodium Citrate

Question 29

Who discovered that sodium citrate prevented blood from clotting in 1915?

Answer 29

Richard Lewisohn

Question 30

When was the first blood bank used?

Answer 30

Battle of Cambrai

Question 31

Who was a famous brain surgeon in WW1?

Answer 31

Harvey Cushing

Question 32

What new techniques to Cushing use in brain surgery?

Answer 32

Using a magnet to remove fragments, using local anesthetics which reduced swelling of the brain

Question 33

Name a famous plastic surgeon in WW1

Answer 33

Harold Gilles