Medical Advances in World War II
Medical advances in World War II changed the outcome of the war to help the Allied forces based on the impact they had on those wounded or disease-ridden during battle. Many soldiers risked getting injured or even risked their lives in the war to save the lives of many others. The soldiers that got hurt needed to be helped as quickly as possible for the best chance of survival.
There were many common injuries soldiers got because of the kinds of attacks on them. Artillery and bombs created many injuries and they were usually the most severe injuries that many soldiers had. Head wounds and amputations were common in bomb or artillery injuries. The medics would try to get all the bomb wounds cared for within …show more content…
Before leaving America, the american soldiers would have to get vaccinations for smallpox, typhoid, and tetanus. Depending on where they were going to be sent, sometimes they were also vaccinated for chlorea, typhus, yellow fever, and sometimes even bubonic plague. Usually the illnesses they got during battle were environment-related illnesses. These illnesses could be malaria, beriberi, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, or jungle rot. Illnesses from poor sanitation were also common. Dysentery, chlorea, hepatitis A or B were some of the more prominent …show more content…
Sulfanilamide was discovered by Earnest Fournou and he determined that it was one of the active chemical agents that were produced when a dye degraded. Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk, a German biochemist, found that sulfanilamide could kill deadly strains of bacteria. He received a Nobel Prize for medicine. Combat medics carried packets of sulfanilamide to coat the wounds in so they would not become infected. Sulfa drugs, whose main ingredient was sulfanilamide, was used to kill infections in soldiers. Some historians credit sulfanilamide with helping the Allied forces claim victory of World War II because it kept their soldiers healthy. Sir Alex Fleming, a bacteriologist form Scotland, discovered penicillin in 1906. Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Walter Florey purified penicillin to use it for research trials on humans to be used as an antibiotic. The three men received a Nobel Prize for their work. Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical company, mass produced penicillin to protect soldiers from wounds that could lead to infection and possibly gangrene. The drug called Atabrine cured malaria. Most soldiers had to be forced to take it by the combat medics because it tasted so bad. Dr. Charles Drew discovered that plasma could replace blood in blood transfusions. It was a lot easier to transport because real blood cannot be preserved for that long. Plasma contains
Medical advances in World War II changed the outcome of the war to help the Allied forces based on the impact they had on those wounded or disease-ridden during battle. Many soldiers risked getting injured or even risked their lives in the war to save the lives of many others. The soldiers that got hurt needed to be helped as quickly as possible for the best chance of survival.
There were many common injuries soldiers got because of the kinds of attacks on them. Artillery and bombs created many injuries and they were usually the most severe injuries that many soldiers had. Head wounds and amputations were common in bomb or artillery injuries. The medics would try to get all the bomb wounds cared for within …show more content…
Before leaving America, the american soldiers would have to get vaccinations for smallpox, typhoid, and tetanus. Depending on where they were going to be sent, sometimes they were also vaccinated for chlorea, typhus, yellow fever, and sometimes even bubonic plague. Usually the illnesses they got during battle were environment-related illnesses. These illnesses could be malaria, beriberi, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, or jungle rot. Illnesses from poor sanitation were also common. Dysentery, chlorea, hepatitis A or B were some of the more prominent …show more content…
Sulfanilamide was discovered by Earnest Fournou and he determined that it was one of the active chemical agents that were produced when a dye degraded. Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk, a German biochemist, found that sulfanilamide could kill deadly strains of bacteria. He received a Nobel Prize for medicine. Combat medics carried packets of sulfanilamide to coat the wounds in so they would not become infected. Sulfa drugs, whose main ingredient was sulfanilamide, was used to kill infections in soldiers. Some historians credit sulfanilamide with helping the Allied forces claim victory of World War II because it kept their soldiers healthy. Sir Alex Fleming, a bacteriologist form Scotland, discovered penicillin in 1906. Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Walter Florey purified penicillin to use it for research trials on humans to be used as an antibiotic. The three men received a Nobel Prize for their work. Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical company, mass produced penicillin to protect soldiers from wounds that could lead to infection and possibly gangrene. The drug called Atabrine cured malaria. Most soldiers had to be forced to take it by the combat medics because it tasted so bad. Dr. Charles Drew discovered that plasma could replace blood in blood transfusions. It was a lot easier to transport because real blood cannot be preserved for that long. Plasma contains