Which laboratory skill helped Fleming conduct his 1917 antiseptics experiment?

Glassblowing helped Fleming conduct his 1917 antiseptics experiment.

While working on wartime wound infections, Fleming used his practical glassblowing ability to make an artificial wound model. The vessel contained irregular spaces resembling the pockets and recesses of a severe battlefield wound, allowing him to observe how antiseptic solutions behaved beyond the surface.

The experiment showed why antiseptics could be harmful in deep wounds. They could kill or injure white blood cells near the surface, yet fail to penetrate far enough to destroy bacteria hidden in deeper recesses. Fleming concluded that antiseptics might remove the body’s protective cells while leaving anaerobic organisms out of reach.

This work predates his penicillin discovery by more than a decade. The famous mould observation occurred in 1928, but the earlier experiment shows that Fleming was already investigating the interaction between microbes, chemical treatments and the body’s natural defences.