Joseph Lister Facts
Joseph Lister Facts
|
| Interesting Joseph Lister Facts: |
|---|
| Joseph Lister was born into a prosperous Quaker family from Essex. |
| He entered University College, London which was one of the few British colleges that accepted Quakers. |
| In 1847 he earned his B.A and then entered the Royal College of Surgeons and earned his B.S. in Medicine. |
| In 1854 he became the first assistant to James Syme at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. |
| Lister first suspected the antiseptic properties of phenol when it was used to decrease the stench from fields irrigated with raw sewage. |
| He thought it was safe since livestock which grazed on treated land were not harmed. |
| Lister married Agnes, daughter of his friend and mentor James Syme, and she became his laboratory assistant. |
| Until Lister's research, wound infections were thought to be the result of bad air and hospital wards were aired out to halt the spread of infection. |
| Hand washing was not generally practiced because surgeons considered it unnecessary. |
| While he was a professor of surgery at the University of Glasgow, Lister read a paper by Louis Pasteur which showed that fermentation could occur under anaerobic conditions and recommended three methods to kill the microorganisms that caused the fermentation. |
| Since the first two, exposure to heat and filtration, were not useful for treating living tissue Lister experimented with the third, using chemical solutions. |
| Lister tested the use of carbolic acid and in 1865 he applied it to the wound of an eleven-year-old boy who had suffered a compound fracture. |
| After 6 weeks the boy's leg had healed without gangrene and the bones had fused. |
| Lister published the results of his studies in a series of articles in the British medical journal, The Lancet, in which he urged surgeons to wash their hands and instruments with a 5% carbolic solution and to wear clean gloves. |
| His work in methods of antisepsis have secured his place as the father of modern surgery. |
| He moved from Scotland to King's College Hospital in London and in 1881 he was elected President of the Clinical Society of London. |
| On August 24, 1902 Edward VII was diagnosed with acute appendicitis two days before his coronation and at that time the risk of postoperative infection made appendectomy extremely dangerous. |
| Although Lister was retired he was considered the leading surgical consultant of the day, and he advised the surgeons on the latest methods of sterile technique. |
| The King survived and he credited Lister with his recovery. |
| He was awarded many honors for his contributions to medical science and the Lister Medal was established which is the most prestigious prize awarded to a surgeon. |
| He was president of the Royal Society from 1895 to 1900 and was one of the twelve original members of the Order of Merit. |
|
Related Links: Facts Scientists Facts Animals Facts |