The History of the Subject 25 



was an accidental result of their universal distribution, or, 

 being still more conservative, adhered to the old notion 

 that the bacteria, whose presence in putrescent wounds as 

 well as in artificially prepared media was unquestionable, 

 were spontaneously generated there. 



Before many of the important bacteria had been dis- 

 covered, and while ideas upon the relation of micro-organ- 

 isms to disease were most crude, some practical measures 

 were suggested that produced greater agitation and incited 

 more observation and experimentation than anything sug- 

 gested in surgery since the introduction of anesthetics 

 namely, antisepsis. 



"It is to one of old Scotia's sons, Sir Joseph Lister, 

 that the everlasting gratitude of the world is due for the 

 knowledge we possess in regard to the relation existing 

 between micro-organisms and inflammation and suppura- 

 tion, and the power to render wounds aseptic through 

 the action of germicidal substances." * 



Lister, convinced that inflammation and suppuration 

 were due to the entrance of germs from the air, instru- 

 ments, fingers, etc., into wounds, suggested the employ- 

 ment of carbolic acid for the purpose of keeping sterile 

 the hands of the operator, the skin of the patient, the 

 surface of the wound, and the instruments used. He 

 finally concluded every operation by a protective dressing 

 to exclude the entrance of germs at a subsequent period. 



Listerism, or "antisepsis," originated in 1875, and when 

 Koch published his famous work on the "Wundinfections- 

 krankheiten" (traumatic infectious diseases), in 1878, it 

 spread slowly at first, but surely in the end, to all depart- 

 ments of surgery and obstetrics. 



From time to time, as the need for them was realized, the 

 genius of investigators provided new devices which materially 

 aided in their work, and have made possible many discoveries 

 that must otherwise have failed. Among them may be men- 

 tioned the improvement of the compound microscope, the use 

 of sterilized culture fluids by Pasteur, the introduction of 

 solid culture media and the isolation methods by Koch, 

 the use of the cotton plug by Schroeder and van Dusch, 

 and the introduction of the anilin dyes by Weigert. 



It is interesting to note that after the discovery of the 

 anthrax bacillus by Pollender and Davaine, in 1849, there 

 *Agnew's "Surgery," vol. i, chap. 11. 



