ANTISEPTICS— PAST AND PRESENT 31 



be applied with a camel 's-liair brush. In some circum- 

 stances the cyanic! powder might possibly be used as a 

 first-aid dressing by dusting it over wounds by means 

 of a tin with a perforated top. 



"As regards the changing of dressing, when there w^as 

 a free discharge from a wound he preferred, as a rule, 

 to remove the first dressing after a lapse of twenty-four 

 hours, but a longer interval ought to be allowed after 

 certain amputations. ' ' 



I have thought fit to give the above abridged history 

 of the evolution of antiseptic surgery, taken from the 

 biography of the late Lord Lister that appeared in the 

 Lancet. It will assist in the consideration of what 

 would appear to be the two schools of surgery of the 

 present, one termed the Antiseptic, the other the Asep- 

 tic ; but, as will be seen later on, the differences between 

 them are more imaginary than real, so far as results 

 are concerned. 



Terms Defined 



As already remarked, during the course of Lister's 

 career he had to submit to severe and often unjust criti- 

 cism, but this is the fate of all who attempt to leave 

 the beaten track. One of his opponents pointed out in 

 1867 that Lister was not the first surgeon to use carbolic 

 acid, but this was already admitted. It is also recorded 

 that Sir William Savory (who was president of the Royal 

 College of Surgeons for five years in succession, and full 

 surgeon at Saint Bartholomew's Hospital from 1867 to 

 1891), at the meeting of the British Medical Association 

 held at Cork in 1879 delivered the address on "Surgery" 

 and spoke in attack or ridicule of the system of anti- 

 septic surgery. I introduce this matter in order to show 

 that surprise should not be expressed if examples of 

 similar opposition existed among veterinary surgeons; 



