How did WW1 Change the Way

we Treat War injuries Today?

By Olivia and Carlyn

New Technologies
Medical techniques kept pace with the mass destruction of war. Doctors developed and
practiced new ways to treat severe cases of tissue damage, burns, and contagious diseases.
Blood transfusions were given under battlefield conditions.The quality of American base
hospitals increased as their medical staffs grew used to the rigors of the western front. The
prosthetic leg and arm was created in WW1. They enable amputees to walk again and live semi
normal lives. Blood was first successfully stored in WW1. This meant that blood could be
transfused and put into soldiers that needed blood because of major blood loss. It prevented
many deaths from happening. From the use of saline, through direct donor-to-patient blood
transfusion and the development of techniques to store blood - have helped shape much of
modern practise. Blood transfusions were given under battlefield conditions. Doctors began
using X-ray equipment to locate bullets and shrapnel during operations. X rays were used to to
see how far bullets or other materials penetrated through the body. In the military, the
Medical Emergency Response Team is able to give wounded soldiers blood on the ground,
helping to prevent deaths from shock. In WW1 the U.S. developed the medical corps. The corps
produced a workable medical system and actually made advances in the field of medicine.
Because of these technologies such as blood transfusion and prosthetics we are able to put a
modern spin on them and make them fit into the technologies of today.

Medical Technologies

How Emergency Teams Respond

In the military, the Medical Emergency Response Team is able to give wounded soldiers blood on the
ground, helping to prevent deaths from shock. From the use of saline, through direct donor-to-patient
blood transfusion and the development of techniques to store blood - have helped shape much of
modern practise.Trenches were susceptible to a range of infections, including typhus fever carried by
lice. It took them about 24 hours to be evacuated from the battlefield where they would go through a
series of events to actually get to the hospital. There was only salt water to rinse wounds, and there
was no medication to stop infection once it had started. Thousands of men lost arms, legs, and even
their lives. They used sodium citrate to prevent the blood from coagulating and becoming unusable. At
the beginning of the war 80% of all soldiers with a broken femur died. By 1916, 80 % of soldiers with this
injury survived.The Army Nurse Corps had approximately 403 nurses who were active at the onset of
the war and roughly 170 reserve nurses. Within a month of the U.S. entering World War I, some of the
nurses who would serve overseas were sent to Europe.This was in advance of the troops and allowed
them to set up base hospitals.The Red Cross was also a major contributor when it came to nurses
during the war. Much of the care for American servicemen came from the Red Cross, which served as a
nursing reserve to the navy and army. Nurses treated patients near or just behind the front lines at
field hospitals or at evacuation stations or clearing houses. Nurses could be found at base stations,
which were generally far removed from battle; however, they also served in troop transports and
transport ships. Some nurses even drove ambulances.Other medications that were frequently used
included cocaine hydrochloride, as a local anesthetic, and chloroform, as both a general anesthetic in
surgeries and a sedative.

The expansion of the medical corps

There was a very serious need for medical care for the army during WW1. The
efficiency of the army medical services in ww1 was largely due to Lt General Sir
Alfred Keogh. He made sure that the medical corps was recognized as a very
important part of the British Army. The U.S. also created their own medical corps
for their soldiers and their allies soldiers. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917
they had a total of 444 physicians but by the end of the war had a whopping
number of 31,530 physicians. Nearly 24% of all physicians served in the army.
Many Americans served as ambulance drivers in France and Italy and they served
under that country's army. Many volunteers were not paid and had to pay for
their travel and what they needed for the war. The Red Cross helped soldiers by
knitting socks and donating food. The corps also worked in field hospitals that
were closer to the the battle fields. There patients were stabilized so that they
could be evacuated back to the units or into better care. Today we have first
responders that can get soldiers quickly to safety so they can be treated. If the
U.S. did not get a medical corps in WW1 our medical team and response would not
be the same.

WW1 Corps

Bibliography
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