Joseph Lister was inspired to stop the spread of germs in
surgical wards after reading Louis Pasteur's work on the souring of wine. He thought that disease was spread by
microbes carried in the air and was concerned about germs entering skin that
had been cut open. He began to use a
carbolic acid spray on patients as a chemical alternative to heat, reducing the
death rate from 45.7% to 15%.
In his work as professor of surgery at Glasgow University,
Lister considered ward cleanliness to be very important. He followed the earlier work of Dr. Ignaz
Semmelweiss from Hungary who required his doctors to wash their hands in
calcium chloride between patients.
Lister first advocated the spraying of carbolic acid in the air to kill
germs. His assistants utilized a sprayer
to administer the carbolic acid, enveloping the surgery in a yellow mist with a
tar-like smell.
On August 12, 1865, Lister took cleanliness a step further
by cleaning the actual wounds. His first
treatment was on patients with compound fractures where gangrene was a common
cause of death due to the bone breaking through the skin. He covered the wounds with lint soaked in
carbolic acid and increased survival rates.
James Greenlees, an 11-year-old boy with a compound fracture
of the tibia and fibula, was the first to receive the treatment. His wounds were treated with the carbolic
acid plan and he was discharged on October 2, 1865. Lister extended the use of carbolic acid to
washing his hands and soaking surgical tools in it. The process is known as antiseptis, or
preventing infection. Lister is known as the father of antiseptic surgery.
Resources:
Encyclopedia of World Biography - Joseph
Lister Biography
History Learning Site - Joseph Lister
sciencemuseum - Carbolic
steam spray used by Joseph Lister, England, 1866-1870 [image]
University of Glasgow - On
This Day: 12th of August
| 
Re: August 12, 1865: Lister Performs First Surgery with Antiseptic
