Penicillin, the first widely used antibiotic, was invented in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist from London. Bacterial infections were a leading cause of death on the war front in the first World War and an issue back at home as well. After the war, there were many different discoveries involving bacterial infections due to the numerous fatalities as a result of these infections that were commonplace in the trenches. For the first time in history there was finally a cure for many different diseases that were previously fatal. This advertisement shows how this discovery changed the lives of soldiers who had less of a chance of succumbing to curable diseases.
Willem Einthoven was a dutch Physician who invented the first electrocardiogram, or EKG, in 1903. Dr. Paul Dudley White, a cardiologist from Massachusetts then brought this technology to the United States because he saw the potential in using it as a diagnostic tool for cardiac events. The primary source above is a diagram of an original EKG that shows how they had to have the patient immerse their hands and one foot in jars of salt water to conduct the test.
Rickets is a disease that causes a decrease in bone density and is caused by a vitamin D deficiency or the inability to metabolize it. It is common in young babies, as it usually affects immature bones. This is an older method of treating it in which they would put goggles on the child, then set them in UV light for a period of time. In doing this, the UV rays change the Vitamin D from an inactive to active state, which allows for calcium to be properly absorbed and bone growth to happen. This practice is an example of one that we still use today to treat this disease and others like it, which is a rare occurrence, but since the treatment is very effective, there hasn't been a need to replace it.
This picture shows an early version of a blood transfusion kit that was used in World war I. The ability to do blood transfusions was and still is one of the most important medical advancements of all time. During WWI, war doctors were able to figure out how to store blood for transfusions and were able to give it to soldiers who lost blood to stabilize them. Soldiers in previous wars who lost a lot of blood would have died on the battlefield, so while there were a lot of casualties in the first World War, many lives were saved just by getting blood transfusions.
While X-Ray technology was not new in World War I, there were many advancements in it that made it very useful for war doctors. This image shows a scan taken on the battlefield by a portable X-Ray. These scans were important for doctors on the front lines to quickly diagnose and come up with a course of treatment for battlefield injuries. This image in particular shows a bullet that is distal to the patella but did not go through the bone or the limb itself.