Sir Joseph Lister (5 April, 1827–10 February, 1912) was a British surgeon who is considered as the Father of antiseptic surgery. He was the one to propel the idea of sterile surgery as this would help to decrease the possibility of post-operative infection. He successfully used Carbolic acid to sterilise wounds and surgical instruments. In those days, hospitals operated in unsanitary conditions due to the lack of awareness. This led to many deaths caused by gangrene infections on open wounds. He was a surgeon at the Royal infirmary in Glasgow. In August 1865, Lister applied lint with carbolic acid on an open wound of a boy sustaining a compound fracture. He observed that within a few days the wound had healed without any danger of suppuration. He published his findings in a series of 5 articles in ‘The Lancet’.
He instructed surgeons to wear gloves and wash their hands before and after performing surgeries. He became professor of Surgery in 1869 at the University of Edinburg. From the year 1895 to 1900 Lister was President of the Royal society. Lister Medal, named after him, is offered for exceptional work in the field of medicine.
