JOSEPH LISTER

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Joseph Lister, the “father of modern surgery,” introduced the idea of sterile surgery. Lister showed that infections are caused by germs. He discovered that using carbolic acid kills germs without damaging human tissue. This then became the most widely used antiseptic around the world to clean wounds and sterilize instruments during surgery. 

 

Lister’s discovery was crucial in making surgery much safer for patients and greatly reducing post-operation infections. At the time, many believed that chemical damage from bad air was the cause of infection. Concerns for bacterial infections were non-existent. In fact, surgeons did not even wash their hands before operations. More than half of all patients died from infection after they were operated on due to germs from unsanitary conditions.

 

Lister’s work was inspired by the research of Louis Pasteur on micro-organisms and food spoilage. Lister tested Pasteur’s findings and through experimentation, he used his own research to create antiseptic techniques for wounds. When Lister began to experiment with carbolic acid, Lister found incredible results. He first tested it on instruments and then on a young boy’s wound in the Glasgow Infirmary. Lister discovered the boy had no infections after a few days, and after six weeks, the child’s bones were fused back together. Lister published his findings and advised surgeons to wear gloves and to begin washing their hands and instruments in a carbolic acid solution. 

 

Although Lister’s antiseptic method is no longer used in modern surgeries, his principle that bacteria must be prevented from entering operation wounds is still the basis of surgery today.