In the early 1860s, French microbiologist and chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) showed what a few scientists had already begun to suspect—that the rotting of organic tissue (gangrene) was caused by bacteria rather than by chemicals in the air (or "miasma"), as had been previously thought.
After reading a paper by Pasteur, English surgeon Joseph Lister (1827-1912) set about conducting his own experiments. Reaching the same conclusion as Pasteur, Lister then sought a way to get rid of the microorganisms that caused gangrene by applying a chemical solution to wounds. Carbolic acid, or phenol, had been used for deodorizing sewage, so Lister applied a solution of carbolic acid to both surgical instruments and open wounds. He found that by doing so the incidence of gangrene In patients in his care was vastly reduced. He had created the first antiseptic to be used in medical practice.
In 1867 Lister outlined his findings in a series of articles for the medical journal The Lancet. He proposed that surgeons should wash their hands in a carbolic acid solution before carrying out surgical procedures, that they wear clean gloves, that operating rooms be sprayed with a carbolic acid solution, and that the handles of surgical instruments should not be made from porous materials such as wood and bone, as these could harbor infection-causing bacteria.
Lister's discovery marked an end to the days when a blood-soaked apron was a badge of medical expertise. Although he was laughed at by many of his contemporaries, his innovative ideas changed surgical methods for ever.
