Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of surgery in the same manner that John Hunter revolutionised the science of surgery.From a technical viewpoint, Lister was not an exceptional surgeon, but his research into bacteriology and infection in wounds raised his operative technique to a new plane where his observations, deductions and practices revolutionised surgery throughout the world.Lister's contribution to the fields of physiology, pathology and surgery were four-fold. He promoted the principle of antiseptic surgical care and wound management while working as a surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary by successfully introducing phenol (then known as carbolic acid) to sterilise surgical instruments, the patient's skin, sutures, the surgeon's hands and the ward. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Joseph Lister has received more than 1,368,335 page views. His biography is available in 65 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 61 in 2019). Joseph Lister is the 65th most popular physician (down from 43rd in 2019), the 405th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 311th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular British Physician.

Joseph Lister is most famous for his work in the field of antiseptic surgery. He introduced the use of carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize surgical instruments and the operating theater, and to clean wounds.