Sir Joseph Lister was a surgeon and scientist born in 1827 in Upton, England. He is known as a pioneer in antiseptic surgery. Lister was the second son of Joseph Jackson Lister, an amateur physicist who played an important role in the improvement of the microscope. Encouraged and instructed by his illustrious father, Joseph Lister chose medicine as a profession at the age of 16 and graduated with honors in 1852.
He was appointed in charge of the surgical block of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1861. During the next four years he noted that the mortality rate for amputation cases in the male ward was almost 50 per cent. Determined to reduce this dreadful statistic, Lister conducted experiments on fermentation and putrefaction, making full use of the microscope as a tool, which he was familiar with since childhood.
He also studied Louis Pasteur’s germ theory. He arrived at the conclusion that microorganisms or germs were causing post-operative deaths in his ward.
He realized the importance of cleanliness and an aseptic environment in the operating room. He propagated the use of carbolic acid to kill germs and insisted that surgical instruments and spaces be sterilized before and sometimes even during surgical procedures.
He obtained immediate results. Surgical mortality in his hospital fell from 45 to 15 per cent. The application of germ theory to prevent surgical infection saved countless lives and led to major advances in the field. Lister had the good fortune of seeing his methods adopted almost universally during his lifetime and is regarded as the ‘Father of modern surgery’.
Picture Credit : Google
