Joseph Lister
1827–1912 · Britain · Founder of antiseptic surgery.
Contribution
From 1867, applied Pasteur’s germ ideas to surgery: carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize instruments and wounds, founding antiseptic (later aseptic) surgical practice.
Why It Still Matters
Modern sterile technique, skin prep, and OR discipline descend from Lister’s insight that surgical infection is preventable microbial contamination.
Key Links
- Hub: Medical Microbiology History
- Concepts: Germ Theory
- Peers: Louis Pasteur · Ignaz Semmelweis
- Clinical: MOC - Clinical Microbiology
- MOC: MOC - Fundamentals of Microbiology
- Source: Jawetz, Melnick & Adelberg’s Medical Microbiology - Chapter 1
Active Recall
- What chemical did Lister use, and what problem was he solving?
- How does antisepsis differ from later asepsis?