Overview
This lecture covers the contributions of Ignaz Semmelweis and Joseph Lister to microbiology, focusing on the origins of hand-washing and antiseptic surgical practices.
Ignaz Semmelweis: Hand-Washing Pioneer
- Ignaz Semmelweis was the first physician to promote hand-washing to prevent disease.
- In the 1840s, he noticed that doctors moving from autopsies to deliveries spread puerperal fever to mothers.
- He began using chloride of lime (calcium hypochlorite) to disinfect hands, drastically reducing maternal deaths.
- Semmelweis faced significant resistance and lost jobs because of his firm stance on hand-washing.
- At the time, prevailing beliefs attributed disease to "bad air" or imbalanced body humors, not germs.
- Semmelweis is credited as the "father of hand-washing" for clinical practice.
- There are legends he used mercury-based compounds, which may have contributed to mental decline.
Joseph Lister: Antiseptic Surgery
- Joseph Lister was inspired by the germ theory of disease and previous hand-washing evidence.
- Lister used carbolic acid (phenol), previously used to treat sewage, to clean wounds and surgical instruments.
- He introduced antiseptic techniques in surgery around 1865 using a carbolic steam spray.
- Lister's methods greatly reduced surgical infections and deaths.
- Before antiseptic practices, infections killed more soldiers than battlefield injuries.
- Lister is credited with developing the first antiseptic surgical techniques.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Puerperal fever — a deadly infection affecting women after childbirth.
- Chloride of lime (calcium hypochlorite) — a chemical disinfectant used by Semmelweis for hand-washing.
- Carbolic acid (phenol) — an antiseptic chemical used by Lister to prevent infection.
- Antiseptic — substances or techniques that prevent infection by killing or inhibiting microorganisms.
- Germ theory of disease — the idea that microorganisms cause many diseases.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the hand-washing procedure and its historical significance.
- Study the timeline and impact of antiseptic techniques in surgery.