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world war two medical advancements
Stories from Ambulance drivers in WW1
world war two medical advancements
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The Medical advancements of WWI had a huge impact on the war; many soldiers’ lives were saved due to advances in medicine and the invention of the ambulance. The First World War had many casualties and deaths, many of these deaths were not caused by the “invisible soldier”. Most of the injuries in the war were caused by large explosions and gunshot wounds. With the invention of the ambulance, many soldiers were aided sooner rather than later, resulting in their lives being saved.
At first Ambulances encountered many problems that made them more of a hindrance then a help. Since there was no “standard” ambulance almost all of the ambulances were different. When one ambulance broke down or encountered problems, mechanics had a hard time fixing the problem, since there was no standard model. The problem was soon solved when many people began to donate their cars, usually the Ford Model-T. Since there were large donations of the same car, a standard kit was made by the British Red Cross, in order to produce identical ambulances. Americans and other citizens of the Allied Forces could...
In 1914, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife from Austro-Hungarian Empire caused an enormous war called World War I, that killed and injured about thirty million lives. It also destroyed the economy later on. World War I changed combat tactics in a whole new way, where people would die in a blink of an eye. Commanders and soldiers did not know about the capabilities of their new arsenals. The new industrialized developed weapons devastated the battlefield with blood, mountain of corpses, and small craters. Some of the weapons that were used were machine guns, poison gas, mortars, and tanks. Soldiers described the battlefield as a nightmare. This was the start of a new era arising through warfare. A very dangerous way to bring great change to the world but was not intended. World War I brought great changes to the world but, considering the countless deaths, it was the worst war ever, an inhumane war.
Medicine has developed so dramatically over the last century that it is difficult to imagine a world in which its many benefits did not exist. Even as humans manage to eradicate some diseases, a look at history reminds us that there was a time when these and other diseases were rampant, and good health was the exception rather than the norm. There are many comparable time periods that medicine was needed and was used. With each, there were drastic changes to medical procedures and medical rules. Of the many different time periods that medicine was used; the comparison of medical care during the American Civil War and medical care during World War I is the most interesting. How did Civil War battlefield medicine compare with World War I battlefield medicine? That's a question that cannot be simply answered, but can be broken down into the overall sanitation of individuals, medical techniques, and overall medical staff for armies.
One of the major diseases that almost permanently affected the soldiers was Shell Shock which was due to constant exposure to horrific scenes of death. Source A1 is an extract from a historian writing for the First World war aimed at students, focuses on ...
The contributions of several doctors, researchers, and scientists helped improve the health of the growing population. In 1850 the average life expectancy was 42 years. By 1910 the average life expectancy had risen to nearly 55 years. Between 1850 and 1910 there were several advances in the medical field. The introduction of genes, white blood cells, blood groups, insulin, rubber gloves, aspirin, and vitamins and the discoveries of Pasteur, Charcot, Halsted, Zirm, Lister, and Koch were the starting point of an international fight against disease.
Ambulances were further developed from the base model which already existed during the war. The ambulance’s main purpose was to speedily take injured soldiers from the battlefield to the medicine and doctors in order to receive appropriate care. Jonathan Lettermen created the ambulance that was used during the Civil War; this ambulance could carry three injured people at a time along with all the supplies necessary. This ambulance was not the ideal ambulance: the ride was extremely bumpy and unstable, but they accomplished their job of taking people from the battlefield to the hospital area. Incredibly, during the Civil War there were multiple “trains” of ambulances; each train consisted of forty ambulances, and there were always forty trains on call at a time (Frederick). They were stocked with supplies and stretchers for those unable to get in unaccompanied. The ambulances were exceptionally helpful during the Civil War. The battle of Antietam was considered the bloodiest day of the Civil War. There were over twenty three thousand casualties during the Antietam battle, and in twenty four hours the ambulance corps had all the dead men off the field (Kagan 164). At the end of the war, the ambulance was widely recognized as a significance lifesaver (Oshinsky
During the war, twice as many men died from disease and wound infection as died from a bullet in the battlefield; this was due to unsanitary and crowded conditions at the campsites. Clara cared ...
Penicillin is an antibiotic that kills bacteria, sufficiently treating any injuries. This drug was invented before the war, but had its major outbreak during World War II. Once scientists discovered the potential of penicillin, they aggressively started to pursue methods to mass produce the drug. The mass production of penicillin saved many American lives and led to our victory during World War II.
In the early 1900’s the United States’ medical field was stagnant causing many deaths in wartime. The majority of deaths in war times were often caused by diseases that were incurable. The United States medical field had to grow to current needs in war but it grew very slowly. The United States Army Ambulance Service was established on June 23, 1917 and the Sanitary Corps established one week later on the 30th. (David Steinert). The Sanitary Corps quickly expanded to nearly 3,000 officers during World War I but, this field was still much smaller than any other
Medical science had not yet discovered the importance of antiseptics in preventing infection. Water was contaminated and soldiers sometimes ate unripened or spoiled food. There weren’t always clean rags available to clean wounds. Because of frequent shortages of water, surgeons often went days without washing their hands or instruments. So now germs were passing from patient to patient.
The World Wars, World War I and II have influenced many medical advances and changes in a good way. Without These new medical and physiological advancements and studies help us, understand what is going on in our and other people’s minds and helps people with mental issues and treat and vaccinate different diseases. Thanks to the medical advancements from World War I and II , it has helped our longevity, health and mental health.
With advances in weaponry came an increase in deaths and major limb injuries. During WWI the primary action was to amputate the limb rather than try and salvage it. This was due to the little time nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists had with each patient in the field hospitals, because they were overrun by more than double their expected capacity. There-fore, surgeons had to choose which critical patients to treat first, resulting in 41,000 ampu-tees during the First World War, all in need of artificial limbs (Pensions, 1939).
World War I allowed for the emergence of many new types of warring equipment. The airplane proved to be very useful and successful. The armored tank became an integral part of an army. However, one of the many new innovations that is frequently overlooked is the introduction of the ambulance.
"Science & Technology in World War I." Shmoop: Study Guides & Teacher Resources. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .
In the early 1860’s, the first field ambulance and attendant was created by the United States. The first recorded use of the ambulance and attendant was during the civil war. Both sides tried to make their medical practices equal, if not better than what was used in the Napoleonic Wars. But due to the lack of funding, government support, and personnel dedication, these attempts failed. In 1864, at the Geneva Conventions, an agreement was made that the European countries would recognize the neutrality of hospitals and ambulances so that the sick and wounded,...
First Aid is the initial care for an illness or injury. First Aid is usually performed in emergency situations by a non-professional person. First Aid can be performed on animals although it is generally meant for the care of humans. Going back to the beginning of the practice of First Aid, it was first practiced by the religious knights in the Eleventh Century. Care was provided to the Pilgrims and Knights as well as training on how to care for common battle wounds. Aid came to a halt during the High Middle Ages and organizations were not seen again until 1859. A few years later, a few nations met in Geneva and formed what we know to be the Red Cross. The main purpose of the Red Cross was to give Aid to the sick and wounded soldiers during battle. In 1878, the formation of St. John Ambulance was put into effect. The ambulance was generally for aid to people in emergencies. Large railway centers, mining districts and police forces were the first to pair with ambulances. Also in 1878 the concept of teaching First Aid to civilians was announced. Surgeon-Major Peter Shepherd and Dr. Coleman performed the first First Aid class with a curriculum that they had formed. First Aid training began to grow in the UK with high risk activities.