Open AccessThe Contributions of Infection Control to a Century of Surgical Progress
Author(s) -
J. Wesley Alexander
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
annals of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.153
H-Index - 309
eISSN - 1528-1140
pISSN - 0003-4932
DOI - 10.1097/00000658-198504000-00004
Subject(s) - medicine , antiseptic , asepsis , aseptic processing , surgery , infection rate , mortality rate , disease , surgical infections , surgical procedures , intensive care medicine , general surgery , pathology , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Although many surgical procedures were well-developed in principle before 1867, their application for the treatment of human disease was limited because of a mortality rate from postoperative infection alone of about 50%. It was the eventual acceptance of Lister's work and the development of the aseptic-antiseptic ritual that allowed operative therapy to be successful and made modern surgery possible. The background leading to the development of aseptic-antiseptic rituals is discussed.