ANTISEPTICS— PAST AND PRESENT 29 



scribed. In 1879 improved methods of protective dress- 

 ings were introduced, to prevent the carbolic acid in the 

 external dressings from reaching the wound, once the 

 latter had been rendered aseptic by the primary appli- 

 cation of the antiseptic. This protective dressing was 

 composed of oiled silk coated on both sides with spe- 

 cially thick copal varnish and afterwards covered with 

 a layer of dextrin to insure its being moistened when 

 dipped into a watery solution of carbolic acid. In 

 cases where patients showed special idiosyncrasies to 

 carbolic acid, either salicylic jute or gauze charged with 

 a mixture of one part of eucalyptus and three parts of 

 gum dammar and paraffin, were employed. 



In 1881 Lister delivered two addresses containing what 

 seems to be his first published reference to pathogenic 

 bacteria as a distinct class of micro-organisms; and in 

 1883 he demonstrated the success of wiring the patella 

 when antiseptic principles were employed. In 1884 he 

 drew attention to the uses of corrosive sublimate as a 

 surgical dressing. He pointed out in 1889 that sal alem- 

 broth was untrustworthy as an antiseptic, and in the 

 same year he introduced the double cyanid of mercury 

 and zinc as a reliable agent with which to render gauze 

 antiseptic, but pointed out that its germicidal efficacy, or 

 ability to destroy existing bacteria, was inferior to its 

 power of inhibiting bacterial growth; hence it was ad- 

 vised that the dressing should be moistened with a five- 

 per-cent solution of carbolic acid before being applied. 



In 1890 Lister announced that he had abandoned the 

 use of the carbolic spray three years previously, and 

 that he had substituted a solution of corrosive sublimate 

 for carbolic acid, having found the former less irritating 

 and more efficient; he also pointed out that the double 

 cyanid of mercury and zinc could be prepared in a 

 perfectly definite manner, and although the new prod- 



