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WWI Battlefield Medicine
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1
Question
What are the symptoms of shellshock?
Answer
Tiredness, nightmares, headaches, loss of speech, shaking, mental breakdown
2
Question
What was the role of the RAMC?
Answer
Providing medical care.
3
Question
What were the problems with x-rays?
Answer
X-rays couldn't identify all objects in the body; x-rays took several minutes; x-ray machines could only be used for an hour before they overheat
4
Question
What problems did treatment face on the Western front?
Answer
Contaminated conditions made aseptic surgery impossible—shrapnel, dirt and bits of uniform in wounds caused infection. The sheer number of casualties meant the system often struggled to cope
5
Question
By the end of 1917, how many operations had the Queen's Hospital in Kent carried out?
Answer
Nearly 12,000 operations
6
Question
What type of ambulances were introduced with help from public donations?
Answer
Motorised ambulances
7
Question
What were the symptoms of trench fever?
Answer
Flu-like symptoms (high temperature, headache, aching muscles)
8
Question
What was the percentage of British wounds were to the head, face and neck?
Answer
20%
9
Question
What caused shrapnel injuries?
Answer
Being hit by bullets or shrapnel from rifles/explosions
10
Question
What kind of injuries were often dealt with at Dressing Stations (ADS/MDS)?
Answer
More serious injuries
11
Question
Who developed portable blood transfusion kits? Why?
Answer
Geoffrey Keynes, a British doctor in the RAMC. So that transfusions could be carried out near the frontline
12
Question
Why were shrapnel injuries so bad?
Answer
Pieces of metal penetrated the body, taking with it soil and dirt—this lead to infection
13
Question
During which battle was the Arras underground hospital abandoned?
Answer
The Battle of Arras in 1917
14
Question
What are the symptoms of trench foot?
Answer
Painful swelling of the feet, leading to gangrene (decomposition)
15
Question
What hospital carried out plastic surgery and why?
Answer
The Queen's Hospital in Kent, which Harold Gillies helped design in 1917. This was because plastic surgery required intricate operations and recovery only possible back in Britain
16
Question
Who staffed Dressing Stations (ADS/MDS)?
Answer
A RAMC unit called the Field Ambulance
17
Question
How much did the Thomas splint improve leg injury survival?
Answer
Survival rate rose from about 20% to 82%
18
Question
When did the first six FANYs arrive in France?
Answer
October 1914.
19
Question
What happened to those with no chance of survival at CCSs?
Answer
They were made comfortable, but no resources were spent on them
20
Question
Where were Advanced Dressing Stations theoretically meant to be in relation to the Main Dressing Station?
Answer
Half a mile behind the Main Dressing Station, which often wasn't the case
21
Question
What caused gas gangrene on the Western Front?
Answer
Open wounds infected by bacteria from soil
22
Question
How many spaces were available where stretchers could be placed as beds at Arras?
Answer
700 spaces
23
Question
What methods were used to deal with infection during WWI?
Answer
Debridement (removal of dead or infected tissue), Carrel-Dakin method (using a sterilised salt solution on wounds as antiseptics didn't work on gas gangrene), amputation (removing infected limbs—240,000 men had lost limbs by 1918)
24
Question
What device did Cushing use to remove metal fragments from the brain?
Answer
Magnet, after using local anaesthetic on the area (general anaestheic swelled the brain)
25
Question
Where were CCSs often set up in?
Answer
In buildings such as factories or schools near railway lines
26
Question
What caused shellshock?
Answer
Psychological damage
27
Question
What was the solution to gas attacks?
Answer
Gas masks were developed in 1915, becoming more sophisticated over time. Early gas masks were simple and often inadequate.
28
Question
In what year was FANY founded?
Answer
1907
29
Question
What was the Arras underground hospital essentially used as?
Answer
A dressing station close to the frontline
30
Question
Where were blood transfusions carried out?
Answer
In Base Hospitals and by 1917, Casualty Clearing Stations too