Antisepsis is the practice of destroying or inhibiting disease-causing microorganisms on skin, wounds and surgical instruments to prevent infection. Joseph Lister introduced it into surgical practice in 1867, applying Louis Pasteur's germ theory through carbolic acid (phenol) sprays, dressings, and hand and instrument washing, reporting a sharp fall in wound mortality on his Glasgow surgical wards. The practice was resisted by surgeons who saw no visible cause for infection, and its general adoption across Europe and North America took roughly two decades.
Facts
Connections
Associated With
The 1867 discovery event behind the atlas's Antisepsis treatment entity.
Source Wikipedia: Joseph Lister
Discovered By
Lister is credited with introducing antisepsis as a systematic surgical practice; antecedent, less systematic uses of disinfectant agents by other practitioners are not disputed as a rival claim to his own.
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
Long-Form Articles
Treats
Antisepsis prevents bacterial infection of wounds and surgical sites rather than treating an infection already established. Joseph Lister's 1867 antiseptic method, using carbolic acid, dramatically reduced post-surgical infection and mortality.
Source A History of MedicineLois N. Magner
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
2. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
Roy Porter, W. W. Norton and Company, 1997
Joseph Lister's antisepsis system (Science Museum)
surgeon resistance sectionQuote, surgeon resistance section
Many surgeons found the antiseptic system excessive and unnecessarily complicated.
Antiseptic (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiseptic, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiseptic, lead section
An antiseptic (Greek: ἀντί, romanized: anti, lit. 'against' and σηπτικός, sēptikos, 'putrefactive') is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction.
A History of Medicine
Lois N. Magner, CRC PressTreats: Bacterial Infection
Wikipedia: Joseph Lister
Frequently Asked Questions
Who introduced antisepsis into surgery, and when?
Joseph Lister, in 1867.
The Antiseptic Method is credited to Joseph Lister, whose work dates to 1867 according to the atlas record. Antisepsis means destroying or inhibiting disease-causing microorganisms on skin, wounds and surgical instruments so that infection does not take hold, and Lister is the figure the atlas names as its discoverer.
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