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Joseph Lister.
Born	5 April 1827(1827-04-05) Upton, Essex
Died	10 February 1912 (aged 84) Walmer, Kent
Nationality	United Kingdom
Fields	Medicine
Institutions	University of London
Known for	Surgical sterile techniques

Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM, FRS (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was an English surgeon who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He successfully introduced carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize surgical instruments and to clean wounds. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Joseph Lister (19 October 1886- 19 January 1963) was a sergeant in the British Army during World War I who received the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Third Battle of Ypres, Belgium on October 9, 1917. ... Image File history File links downloaded from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1827 (MDCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see West Ham (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Location within the British Isles Walmer is in Dover District, Kent in England: located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Dover. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Website http://www. ... An antiseptic is a substance that kills or prevents the growth and reproduction of various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses on the external surfaces of the body. ... The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1827 (MDCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... “Surgeon” redirects here. ... An antiseptic is a substance that kills or prevents the growth and reproduction of various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses on the external surfaces of the body. ... The front of Glasgow Royal Infirmary The rear of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, viewed from the Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is a hospital situated on the north-eastern edge of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. ... Phenol or carbolic acid is a white crystalline solid, with a chemical formula of C6H5OH, a melting point of 43 C, and a boiling point of 182 C at the pressure of 1 atmosphere (or 101080 Pa). ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... Sterilization (or sterilisation) refers to any process that effectively kills or eliminates transmissible agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses and prions) from a surface, equipment, foods, medications, or biological culture medium. ... Superficial bullet wounds In medicine, a wound is a type of physical trauma wherein the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). ...

Biography

Early life

Joseph Lister came from a prosperous Quaker home in Upton, Essex, a son of Joseph Jackson Lister, the pioneer of the compound microscope. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... For other uses, see West Ham (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... Joseph Jackson Lister FRS (January 11, 1786-October 24 1869). ... A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ...

At Quaker schools he became fluent in French and German which were, serendipitously, also the leading languages of medical research.^[1] He attended the University of London, one of only a few institutions which was open to Quakers at that time. He initially studied the Arts but at the age of 25 he graduated with honours as Bachelor of Medicine and entered the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1854, Lister became both first assistant to and friend of surgeon James Syme at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He subsequently left the Quakers, joined the Scottish Episcopal Church and eventually married Syme's daughter Agnes.^[2] For their honeymoon they spent 3 months visiting leading medical centres (Hospitals and Universities) in France and Germany, by this time Agnes was enamored of medical research and partnered him in the laboratory for the rest of his life. Website http://www. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... The Bachelor of Medicine, abbreviated BM, is an academic degree denoting the degree obtained after studying Medicine at University. ... The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... James Syme (7 November 1799 - 26 June 1870) was a Scottish surgeon. ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... This article is about the country. ... Logo of the Scottish Episcopal Church with the motto: Evangelical truth and Apostolic order. ...

Career

Antiseptics

After six years he earned a professorship of surgery at the University of Glasgow. At the time the usual explanation for wound infection was that the exposed tissues were damaged by chemicals in the air or via a stinking "miasma" in the air. The sick wards actually smelled bad, not due to a "miasma" but due to the rotting of wounds. Hospital wards were occasionally aired out at midday, but Florence Nightingale's doctrine of fresh air was still seen as science fiction. Facilities for washing hands or the patient's wounds did not exist and it was even considered unnecessary for the surgeon to wash his hands before he saw a patient. The work of Ignaz Semmelweis and Oliver Wendell Holmes were not heeded. Master of Theology (MTh) Dentistry Nursing Affiliations Russell Group Universitas 21 Website http://www. ... An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... The miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. In general, this concept has been supplanted by the more scientifically founded germ theory of disease. ... Embley Park, now a school, was the family home of Florence Nightingale. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Superficial bullet wounds In medicine, a wound is a type of physical trauma wherein the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). ... Ignaz Semmelweis (1860 portrait): advised handwashing with a chlorinated-lime solution in 1847. ... Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ...

Lister became aware of a paper published (in French) by the French chemist Louis Pasteur which showed that rotting and fermentation could occur without any oxygen if micro-organisms were present. Lister confirmed this with his own experiments. If micro-organisms were causing gangrene, the problem was how to get rid of them. Pasteur suggested three methods: to filter them out, to heat them up, or expose them to chemical solutions. The first two were inappropriate in a human wound so Lister experimented with the third. A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... Louis Pasteur (December 27 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease. ... For other uses, see Fermentation. ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... Gangrene is a complication of necrosis (i. ... Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French microbiologist and chemist who demonstrated the germ theory of disease and developed techniques of inoculation, most notably the first vaccine against rabies. ... Making a saline water solution by dissolving table salt (NaCl) in water This article is about chemical solutions. ...

Carbolic acid (phenol) had been in use as a means of deodorizing sewage, so Lister tested the results of spraying instruments, the surgical incisions, and dressings with a solution of it. Lister found that carbolic acid solution swabbed on wounds markedly reduced the incidence of gangrene and subsequently published a series of articles on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery describing this procedure in Volume 90, Issue 2299 of The Lancet published on 21 September 1867. Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... Phenol or carbolic acid is a white crystalline solid, with a chemical formula of C6H5OH, a melting point of 43 C, and a boiling point of 182 C at the pressure of 1 atmosphere (or 101080 Pa). ... Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery is a paper regarding antiseptics written by Joseph Lister in 1867. ... The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, published weekly by Elsevier, part of Reed Elsevier. ... is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

He also made surgeons wear clean gloves and wash their hands before and after operations with 5% carbolic acid solutions. Instruments were also washed in the same solution and assistants sprayed the solution in the operating theatre. One of his conclusions was to stop using porous natural materials in manufacturing the handles of medical instruments. A glove (Middle English from Old English glof) is a type of garment which covers the hand. ... A substance is soluble in a fluid if it dissolves in the fluid. ... An operating theatre (gynecological hospital of Medical University of Silesia in Bytom) An operating theatre, operating room, or a surgery suite is a room within a hospital within which surgical operations are carried out. ... A pore, in general, is some form of opening, usually very small. ...

Lister left Glasgow in 1869, returning to Edinburgh as successor to Syme as Professor of Surgery at the University of Edinburgh, and continued to develop improved methods of antisepsis and asepsis. His fame had spread by then and audiences of 400 often came to hear him lecture. For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... An antiseptic is a substance that kills or prevents the growth of bacteria on the external surfaces of the body. ... Asepsis is the practice to reduce or eliminate contaminants (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) from entering the operative field in surgery or medicine to prevent infection. ...

As the germ theory of disease became more widely accepted, it was realised that infection could be better avoided by preventing bacteria from getting into wounds in the first place. This led to the rise of sterile surgery. Some consider Lister "the father of modern antisepsis." The following alphabetical lists includes men and women commonly known as the father or mother of something. ... An antiseptic is a substance that kills or prevents the growth of bacteria on the external surfaces of the body. ...

In 1879 [1] Listerine mouthwash was named after him for his work in antisepsis. Also named in his honour is the bacterial genus Listeria, typified by the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Various Listerine products Listerine is a brand name for antiseptic mouthwash invented by John Lister. ... For the Addie Cyr song see Mouthwash (song) For the ska-punk band, see Mouthwash (band) Mouthwash or mouth rinse is a product used for oral hygiene. ... Species Listeria monocytogenes Listeria ivanovii Listeria innocua Listeria welshimeri Listeria seegligeri Listeria grayi Listeria innocua Listeria is a bacterial genus containing six species. ... Binomial name Murray (1926) Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium, in the division Firmicutes, named for Joseph Lister. ...

Surgical technique

Lister moved from Scotland to King's College Hospital, in London, and became the second man in England to operate on a brain tumor^{[citation needed]}. He also developed a method of repairing kneecaps with metal wire and improved the technique of mastectomy. His discoveries were greatly praised and he was made Baron Lister of Lyme Regis and became one of the twelve original members of the Order of Merit. Kings College Hospital is an acute care facility in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as Kings or abbreviated internally to KCH. It serves an inner city population of 700,000 in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A brain tumor is any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or... The patella or kneecap is a thick, triangular bone which articulates with the femur and covers and protects the front of the knee joint. ... In medicine, mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. ... For other uses, see Baron (disambiguation). ... , Lyme Regis (IPA: ) is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles east of Exeter. ... The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. ...

Among his students at King's College London was Robert Hamilton Russell who later moved to Australia. For other uses, see Kings College. ... Robert Hamilton Russell (3 September 1860 – 30 April 1933) was an English-born Australian surgeon. ...

In life Lister was said to be a shy, unassuming man, deeply religious in his beliefs, and uninterested in social success or financial gain.

Later life

Lister retired from practice after his wife, who had long helped him in research, died in 1893 in Italy, during one of the few holidays they allowed themselves. Studying and writing lost appeal for him and he sank into religious melancholy. Despite suffering a stroke, he still came into the public light from time to time. Edward VII came down with appendicitis two days before his coronation. The surgeons did not dare operate without consulting Britain's leading surgical authority. The king later told Lister "I know that if it had not been for you and your work, I wouldn't be sitting here today". This article is about the concept. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... Melancholia (Greek μελαγχολια) was described as a distinct disease as early as the fifth and fourth centuries BC in the Hippocratic writings. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910. ... Appendicitis (or epityphlitis) is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. ... British coronations are held in Westminster Abbey. ...

Lister died on 10 February, 1912 at his country home in Walmer, Kent at the age of 84. He was buried at Hampstead Cemetery, Fortune Green, London in a plot to the south-west of central chapel. 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Location within the British Isles Walmer is in Dover District, Kent in England: located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Dover. ... Hampstead Cemetery is situated on Fortune Green Road, London, at the upper extremity of the NW6 postcode. ...

Legacy and honours

Lister was president of the Royal Society between 1895 and 1900. For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ...

A British Institution of Preventive Medicine, previously named after Edward Jenner was renamed in 1899 in honour of Lister. Edward Jenner, FRS, (May 17, 1749 – January 26, 1823) was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. ...

Two postage stamps were issued in September 1965 to honour Lister for his contributions to antiseptic surgery.

Lister is one of the two surgeons in the United Kingdom who have the honour of having a public monument in London, Lister's stands in Portland Place (the other surgeon is John Hunter). There is a statue of Lister in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, celebrating his links with the city. Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. ... Engraving of John Hunter (1728 – 1793) taken from the original portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which is in the Royal College of Surgeons. ... Kelvingrove Park is one of the most popular parks in the city of Glasgow. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ...

Bibliography

• Lister Ward by Martin Goldman. Contains black and plates of activities at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh ^[3]
• Lord Lister by Sir Rickman Godlee. Macmillan & Co, London, 1917 - reissued by The Heirs of Hippocrates, Gryphon Editions, 1993
• Lister as I knew him by John Ruud Leeson. London, Baillière, Tindall and Cox, 1927.
• Joseph, Baron Lister, Centenary Volume. 1827-1927, by A. Logan Turner. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1927
• Joseph Lister – Father of Modern Surgery, by Rhoda Truax. Bobbs Merrill, Indianapolis and New York, 1944
• Joseph Lister (the friend of man), by Hector Charles Cameron. W. Heinemann, 1948
• Joseph Lister, by Kenneth Walker. Hutchinson, London, 1956
• Master Surgeon - A Biography of Joseph Lister, by Laurence Farmer, M.D. Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1962
• Joseph Lister, 1827 - 1912, by Richard B Fisher. Stein and Day, New York, 1977
• Joseph Lister and Antiseptics, by A J Harding Rains. Wayland, East Sussex, 1978 (2nd impression).
• The Collected Papers of Joseph Lister (Vols 1 and 2) by Joseph Lister. Classics of Medicine Library, Birmingham, 1979 (a facsimile edition of the Collected Papers first published in 1909).
• Joseph Lister and the Story of Antiseptics, by John Bankston. Mitchell Lane Publishing Inc, 2004 (hardcover)
• Joseph Lister – The Father of Antiseptics, by Peggy J. Parkes. Blackbirch Pr Inc, 2005
• Pioneers of Science- Joseph Lister, by Douglas McTavish, New York, 1992

Sir Rickman John Godlee (born 15 February 1849; died 18 April 1925). ... Rhoda Truax Silberman (October 28, 1901 - June 29, 2000) was an American author. ...

See also

• Joseph Sampson Gamgee
• Discoveries of anti-bacterial effects of penicillium moulds before Fleming
• Ignaz Semmelweis

Dr Joseph Sampson Gamgee (born 17 April 1828, Livorno, Italy; died 18 September 1886) was a surgeon at the Queens Hospital (later the General Hospital) in Birmingham, England. ... Discoveries of anti-bacterial effects of penicillium moulds before Fleming Penicillin, isolated and named by Alexander Fleming Alexander Fleming, although he discovered and identified the mould independently of the previous researchers, was not the first to discover the antibacterial properties of the Penicillium mould. ... Ignaz Semmelweis (1860 portrait): advised handwashing with a chlorinated-lime solution in 1847. ...

References

Sherwin Nuland (born December 1930) is an American surgeon who teaches bioethics and medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, where he obtained his M.D. degree. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent...

External links

• The Lister Institute
• Collection of portraits of Lister at the National Portrait Gallery, London