1-158-348 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Joseph Lister, English surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic surgery, c1877. Lister (1827-1912) pioneered the use of antiseptics in surgery. He made important discoveries on the microscopical investigations of inflammation and the coagulation of blood, but his pivotal role in medicine was introducing his antiseptic system in 1867. He used carbolic acid, a well known disinfectant, to soak his surgical gauzes and instruments. As a result, surgeons gained the ability to carry out complex surgery without patients developing fatal infections.