History ww2/ medicine through time

A metal brace use to protect and hold in place broken bones.

Before casualties were just dragged along, which meant the bone could cut muscles or arteries. This was much safer.

Lice, which caused trench fever, trench foot, gas gangrene, shell shock.

Stretcher bearers fetch wounded soldiers and apply basic medical care. They are transported to:

1, Regimental Aid Post - apply treatment like bandages to those with minor wounds, transport more seriosly injured people further down the line

2. Dressing Station - triage (soldiers are seperated according to the severity of their condition), if seriously wounded they'd be transported to the CCS by ambulance

3. Casualty Clearing Station - originally basic but developed wards, operating theatres. xray machines and kitchens. Surgery would be performed here.

4. Base hospital - most serious cases came here. Example is underground hospital at Arras. 

Lister's carbolic acid used to sterilise woulds, instruments etc.

Aspeptic surgery was more about preventing germs from entering the environment, not just killing them.

In the trenches this was almost impossible.

Carrel and Dakin experimented by flooding a wood with a dilute antiseptic solution.

Huge success in reducing the cases of gangrene.

Still relative new form of technology.

Could be used to locate shrapnel and bullets, allowing for quicker removal.

It took a long time to get people to xray machines at base hospitals, so mobile xray units were set up.

Blood groups discovered by Karl Landsteiner. Sodium cirtrate + refrigeration was then used to stop blood from coagulating so it could be stored. 

First to use agar jelly instead of liqiud in a petri dish to make it easier to observe bacteria.

Used dyes to stain microbes and make the bacteria more visible.

Took anthrax bacteria from a sheep, put it in mice and when the mouse died he cut the bacteria out of the mice and repeated 20 times, so he was satisfied this microbe was causing anthrax.

Didn't find a cure but proved connection between a microbe and corresponding disease. Did the same with TB and Cholera. Others followed. Once identified, vaccinations could be developed.

James Simpson and his friends would experiment with inhaling different chemicals to see if any worked as an anaesthetic. Better than ether which was flammable/irritated the lungs, but could be dangerous if it wasn't properly administered.

1st cholera outbreak - 1831-2. Scares the Government

1842 - Edwin Chadwick's report

2nd cholera outbreak - 1848. Public Health Act is passed, but it isn't compulsory

3rd - 1854. John Snow discovers that cholera is being transported via the Broad Street pump.

1861- Germ theory gives Snow's claims proof.

1865 - 4th cholera outbreak

1867 - working class men get the vote.

2nd compulsory Public Health Act passed 1875.