History of the asepsis and antisepsis

The history of asepsis and antisepsis has been presented along with the doctors and scientists acclaimed in the field. Ignacy Semmelweis (1818 – 1865), an obstetrician from Vienna, noticed that the puerperal fever arises from the fact that doctors and students after their classes in dissecting room come to the rooms for the ill in hospitals without washing their hands. But, his recommendations to wash hands in chlorine water were criticized and rejected. Józef Lister (1827 – 1912), an English surgeon, after the discovery of pyogenic bacteria such as staphylococcus and streptococcus by Ludwik Pasteur (1822 – 1912), suggested washing hands and sterilization of the surgical instruments and dressings as well as spraying the operating rooms with the use of carbolic acid. He is considered to be the father of antisepsis. The paper also underlines the role of Kurt Schimmelbusch (1870 –1895) in fighting with the perioperative infections. He was the creator of an autoclave used for sterilization of surgical materials and instruments. Jan Mikulicz Radecki (1850 – 1905), from Wrocław, was the first to use a sterile uniform with a face mask and cotton gloves for surgical treatments.