A nurse filling a patient's amputation wound with sulphathiazole, Royal Infirmary, Infirmary Road, Sheffield

Photograph taken 10 October 1942 © Source: Historic England Archive ref: med01_01_3280

A nurse filling the pockets of a patient's amputation wound with sulphathiazole. Sulphathiazole is an anti-microbial compound that was used the help prevent the spread of infection in wounds. An article titled 'Sulphathiazole in the Treatment of War Wounds - By JANIES T. HEYL, M.D.' from the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine' in October 1941 describes recent trials of sulphathiazole. The following is a quote from the article summing up the findings of the trials:- 'Therefore it is fair to say that sulphathiazole has done no detectable harm, though its excretion as a hypersaturated urine is a real hazard. But it is only fitting to comment that most patients are very grateful to be off the drug.'

Location

South Yorkshire Sheffield

Period

World War Two (1939 - 1945)

Themes

Bottles of dried plasma being packed together with the giving sets in special cases for transport to the Middle East or where needed. The outbreak of World War Two had prompted work investigating the division of blood into its constituent parts, because whole blood was difficult to transport to overseas battlefields. Plasma is the fluid in the blood containing proteins that help blood to clot. Liquid plasma, though more efficient to transport than whole blood, was similarly difficult to convey to battle and administer in the field. Dried plasma was introduced, with the benefits of stability, more economical storage and transportation, and ease of preparation. The “dried plasma sets” packed and despatched overseas consisted of a bottle of dried plasma, a tin box containing sterile giving set, and a bottle of sterile water. It took minutes for the dried plasma to be adequately dissolved in the water; concentrated plasma could be obtained by adding less distilled water.

A nurse filling a patient's amputation wound with sulphathiazole, Royal Infirmary, Infirmary Road, Sheffield

Location

Period

Themes

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