1865Primary sourceWell documented
Lister introduces antiseptic surgery
On the timeline · around 1865 ·
What happened
Joseph Lister used carbolic acid to sterilize wounds and instruments, drastically cutting deaths from post-surgical infection.
Why it matters
Applying germ theory to the operating room; the ancestor of all modern sterile technique.
Sources
- British Library. Joseph Lister's antiseptic principle · Primary source