WOUND INFECTIONS 269 



and surgeons have suffered serious and often fatal 

 results from such an apparently insignificant wound. 



Antiseptic surgery has for its object the destruction 

 of all bacteria in wounds or attached to objects which 

 are brought into contact with wounds, such as the 

 hands and instruments of the surgeon, surgical dress- 

 ings, etc. This is accomplished by the use of chem- 

 ical agents of established germicidal value, which 

 must be used in such a proportion as will insure the 

 destruction of germs, and which will not have an 

 injurious effect upon the vitality of the tissues and 

 the healing process. The principal agents which 

 have been used for this purpose are carbolic acid and 

 corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride) in solutions 

 of proper strength. There are certain objections to 

 the use of either of these agents in solutions strong 

 enough to promptly destroy disease germs, especially 

 when applied to wounds of considerable magnitude. 

 For this reason antiseptic surgery has to a considerable 

 extent been superseded by aseptic surgery^ which ac- 

 complishes the same result without the application of 

 chemical agents of any kind to the wound surfaces. 

 Instruments and dressings are rendered sterile by 

 heat, usually in a steam steriliser. The hands of the 

 surgeon and the " field of operation " are thoroughly 

 scrubbed with soap and water and then washed in an 

 antiseptic solution to insure the destruction of germs 



