Edexcel GCSE History · Option 11

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches

50 exam-style questions with answers for Option 11 Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches in Edexcel GCSE History (spec 1HI0). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 1
State two supernatural explanations of disease in the Middle Ages. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: punishment from God for sin (1); astrology and the alignment of the planets (1); evil spirits (1).
Question 2 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 1
What was the Theory of the Four Humours? [2 marks]
Answer:
The body contained blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile (1); illness was caused by an imbalance between them (1).
Question 3 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 1
What was the miasma theory? [1 mark]
Answer:
The belief that disease was caused by bad air (miasma) from rotting matter.
Question 4 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 1
Explain why Galen's ideas remained influential in medieval England. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Church supported his ideas because he believed in one creator (1); physicians were trained using his books, and challenging them was discouraged (1).
Question 5 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 2
State two medieval treatments based on the Four Humours. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: bloodletting (1); purging (1); vomiting (1); treatment by opposites (1).
Question 6 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 2
State two roles in medieval medical care. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: physicians, trained at university, diagnosed using urine charts and astrology (1); apothecaries mixed herbal remedies (1); barber surgeons did bloodletting and simple surgery (1); women cared for the sick at home (1).
Question 7 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 2
Describe the role of medieval hospitals. [2 marks]
Answer:
Most were run by the Church and cared for the elderly and poor rather than curing illness (1); many refused to take in people with infectious diseases (1).
Question 8 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 3
State two beliefs about the cause of the Black Death. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: God’s punishment (1); miasma or bad air (1); planetary alignment (1); outsiders, such as Jews, were blamed (1).
Question 9 · Option 11, c1250–c1500: 3
State two ways people tried to prevent the Black Death. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: prayer and flagellation (1); carrying sweet herbs (1); cleaning streets (1); avoiding the sick (1).
Question 10 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 1
Who was Thomas Sydenham? [2 marks]
Answer:
The 'English Hippocrates', a physician in the 1660s (1); he improved diagnosis by observing symptoms carefully and treating diseases as separate conditions (1).
Question 11 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 1
Explain how the printing press helped medical progress. [2 marks]
Answer:
Ideas could be copied accurately and spread quickly (1); eg Vesalius’ accurate drawings reached many doctors (1).
Question 12 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 1
What was the Royal Society? [2 marks]
Answer:
A group of scientists founded in 1660 to share new ideas (1); it published journals, spreading scientific ideas in England and abroad (1).
Question 13 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 2
Explain why hospital care changed little in c1500–c1700. [2 marks]
Answer:
The dissolution of the monasteries closed many hospitals (1); new charity-funded hospitals still mostly cared for the sick rather than curing them (1).
Question 14 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 2
Who was Andreas Vesalius? [2 marks]
Answer:
An anatomist who published The Fabric of the Human Body (1543) (1); he proved Galen had made errors, eg the jawbone is one bone (1).
Question 15 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 2
Explain why Vesalius influenced medical training in England. [2 marks]
Answer:
His book The Fabric of the Human Body (1543) corrected Galen's errors in anatomy (1); it encouraged English doctors to learn through dissection (1).
Question 16 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 3
What did William Harvey discover? [2 marks]
Answer:
That blood circulates around the body (1); pumped by the heart, published in 1628 (1).
Question 17 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 3
State two treatments used during the Great Plague (1665). [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: carrying sweet-smelling herbs (1); bloodletting (1); placing a live chicken on the buboes (1); smoking tobacco (1).
Question 18 · Option 11, c1500–c1700: 3
What measures were taken against the Great Plague of 1665? [2 marks]
Answer:
Victims’ houses were shut up and marked with a red cross (1); public gatherings were banned and dogs and cats killed (1).
Question 19 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 1
How did Pasteur prove germ theory? [2 marks]
Answer:
His swan-necked flask experiment (1861) (1); it showed microbes in the air caused decay, not spontaneous generation (1).
Question 20 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 1
Name two discoveries made by Robert Koch. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the bacterium that causes anthrax (1); the tuberculosis bacterium (1882) (1); the cholera bacterium (1883) (1); a staining technique for bacteria (1).
Question 21 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 1
Explain why germ theory took time to be accepted in Britain. [2 marks]
Answer:
Many doctors still believed in miasma and spontaneous generation (1); it was hard to prove which germ caused which disease until Koch's work in the 1870s–80s (1).
Question 22 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 2
State two ways Florence Nightingale improved nursing in Britain. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: she set up the Nightingale School of Nursing in 1860 (1); she made nursing a respected, trained profession (1); she promoted clean, airy hospital wards (1).
Question 23 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 2
Who first used chloroform as an anaesthetic? [1 mark]
Answer:
James Simpson, in 1847.
Question 24 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 2
How did Lister reduce infection in surgery? [2 marks]
Answer:
He used carbolic acid on wounds, instruments and bandages (1); and sprayed it in the air during operations, from 1867 (1).
Question 25 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 2
What did the Public Health Act of 1875 require? [1 mark]
Answer:
Local councils had to provide clean water, sewers and drainage, and appoint medical officers of health.
Question 26 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 3
What was inoculation? [2 marks]
Answer:
Giving a healthy person a small dose of smallpox to cause a mild case (1); it was introduced to Britain by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1721 (1).
Question 27 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 3
How did Jenner develop vaccination? [2 marks]
Answer:
He noticed milkmaids who had cowpox did not catch smallpox (1); in 1796 he infected James Phipps with cowpox and showed he was then immune to smallpox (1).
Question 28 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 3
How did John Snow prove that cholera was spread by water? [2 marks]
Answer:
He mapped deaths in Soho in 1854 (1); they clustered around the Broad Street pump, and when its handle was removed deaths fell (1).
Question 29 · Option 11, c1700–c1900: 3
Why was the Broad Street pump significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
Snow removed the pump handle and cases in the area fell (1); it proved cholera spread through water, although the government did not fully accept it until later (1).
Question 30 · Option 11, c1900–present: 1
State two lifestyle factors that affect health. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: smoking (1); diet (1); alcohol (1); lack of exercise (1).
Question 31 · Option 11, c1900–present: 1
Explain how genetics has improved understanding of disease. [2 marks]
Answer:
The discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 showed how characteristics are inherited (1); the Human Genome Project (completed 2003) helps identify genes linked to illnesses (1).
Question 32 · Option 11, c1900–present: 1
State two ways diagnosis improved after 1900. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: blood tests (1); X-rays and CT or MRI scans (1); blood pressure and heart monitors (1).
Question 33 · Option 11, c1900–present: 2
When was the NHS created, and by whom? [2 marks]
Answer:
5 July 1948 (1); by Aneurin Bevan, the Labour Minister of Health (1).
Question 34 · Option 11, c1900–present: 2
State two high-tech treatments available in modern hospitals. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: keyhole surgery (1); organ transplants (1); radiotherapy (1); dialysis (1).
Question 35 · Option 11, c1900–present: 2
State two government lifestyle campaigns. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: anti-smoking campaigns (1); Change4Life (1); 5 A Day (1); drink-driving campaigns (1).
Question 36 · Option 11, c1900–present: 3
How did Fleming discover penicillin? [2 marks]
Answer:
In 1928 he noticed mould had killed bacteria on a culture plate he had left (1); but he could not purify it in large amounts (1).
Question 37 · Option 11, c1900–present: 3
Explain how penicillin was developed for mass production. [2 marks]
Answer:
Florey and Chain purified it and tested it in 1940–1941 (1); the US government funded mass production during the Second World War (1).
Question 38 · Option 11, c1900–present: 3
State two ways science and technology help diagnose and treat lung cancer. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: CT scans and biopsies for diagnosis (1); radiotherapy (1); chemotherapy (1); targeted drugs based on genetics (1).
Question 39 · Option 11, c1900–present: 3
State two ways the government acted against lung cancer. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: banning cigarette advertising (1); banning smoking in enclosed public places (2007) (1); higher taxes on cigarettes (1); health warnings on packets (1).
Question 40 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
State two features of the trench system. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: frontline, support and reserve trenches linked by communication trenches (1); zigzag shape to limit the effect of shellfire (1); barbed wire in no man's land (1); dugouts (1).
Question 41 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
Explain why the terrain of the Western Front made medical treatment difficult. [2 marks]
Answer:
The ground was often thick mud, especially around Ypres (1); so stretcher bearers moved slowly and roads were damaged by shelling (1).
Question 42 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
What was trench foot? [1 mark]
Answer:
A condition caused by standing in cold, wet trenches for long periods, which could lead to gangrene.
Question 43 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
Explain why wound infection was a problem on the Western Front. [2 marks]
Answer:
Shrapnel and bullets carried dirt and fabric into wounds (1); the soil was heavily manured farmland, so gas gangrene was common (1).
Question 44 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
State two effects of gas attacks. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: chlorine caused suffocation (1); phosgene was faster acting and caused breathing problems (1); mustard gas caused blisters and blindness (1).
Question 45 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
What was the RAMC? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Royal Army Medical Corps, which provided medical care for the British army.
Question 46 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
State the stages of the chain of evacuation in order. [2 marks]
Answer:
Regimental aid post, then field ambulance and dressing station (1); then casualty clearing station, then base hospital (1).
Question 47 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
What was the underground hospital at Arras? [1 mark]
Answer:
A hospital built in old quarry tunnels near the front line in 1917, with 700 beds.
Question 48 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
What was the Thomas splint? [2 marks]
Answer:
A splint that kept a broken leg straight and still (1); it cut deaths from leg fractures from about 80% to 20% (1).
Question 49 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
What blood bank was set up in 1917? [1 mark]
Answer:
A store of blood for the Battle of Cambrai, using citrate to stop it clotting.
Question 50 · Option 11, Western Front historic environment
State one strength and one weakness of army records as a source. [2 marks]
Answer:
Strength: they give accurate statistics on numbers of wounded and deaths (1). Weakness: they may leave out the soldiers' personal experiences or hide failures (1).

← Option 10 Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present and Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: crime, policing and the inner city Option 12 Warfare and British society, c1250–present and London and the Second World War, 1939–45 →

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches

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