The contribution of Joseph Lister (1827-1912)

During the 1860s, Lister was professor of surgery in the University of Glasgow and subsequently at King's College hospital London. Learning of Pasteur's work, he considered whether sepsis of wounds, which occurred almost always following surgery, might be due to air-borne microorganisms. Pasteur had already shown that such microorganisms could be killed by chemicals. In the face of much scepticism, Lister investigated the application of carbolic acid (phenol) to wounds, surgical instruments and surgeons' hands. He also developed a means of pervading the air in the operating theatre with a fine mist of carbolic acid. There was a dramatic fall in the incidence of sepsis. Thus the use of antiseptics in surgery was initiated. A later development was the use of aseptic surgery where the aim is to prevent microorganisms from gaining access to the operating area, rather than to kill them once they are there. This was made possible by the development of effective methods for sterilising gowns, masks, dressings, instruments and so on.