Health & biology · 1867

Antiseptic surgery

Joseph Lister sprayed carbolic acid on wounds and instruments, and surgical infection plunged.

Applying Pasteur's germ theory, Lister reported in 1867 that carbolic acid cut deaths after amputation in his Glasgow ward from about 45 to 15 percent. Antisepsis, then aseptic technique, made surgery inside the body survivable.

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Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Germ theory of disease 1861
Surgical anesthesia 1846

What it led to 1

Organ transplant 1954

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Maternal mortality in the UK since 1847 Latest: 9.84 deaths per 100,000 births (2020) Source: Our World in Data

Life expectancy in the UK since 1543 Latest: 81.3 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data

Life expectancy at birth Latest: 73.2 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data