Lister Joseph

British surgeon. His demonstration that carbolic acid was an effective antiseptic agent eventually led to surgical practices that decreased postoperative fatalities from infection.

British surgeon who introduced strict standards of hygiene to hospitals to help combat infection. As a young doctor, Lister observed that patients with compound fractures (fractures with bone protruding through the skin) often died of infection. He became convinced that infection was spread by contact with the air and demonstrated that keeping wounds clean and covered decreased infection. In 1865 he read about Pasteur's germ theory of disease and established a system of antiseptic measures that dramatically decreased the number of deaths caused by infection. Lister's practices were gradually adopted by hospitals throughout Europe.