Which Scottish surgeon discovered Staphylococcus in pus from surgical abscesses?

Scottish surgeon Alexander Ogston discovered Staphylococcus in pus from surgical abscesses.

Working in Aberdeen in the late nineteenth century, Ogston examined pus from abscesses and recognized clusters of round bacteria. He distinguished these clustered forms from chain-forming bacteria, which he called streptococci. The name staphylococcus comes from Greek words meaning “bunch of grapes,” describing the organisms’ microscope appearance.

Ogston did more than observe the bacteria. He cultivated organisms from many abscess samples and transferred pure cultures into animals, where they produced abscesses. These experiments supported the conclusion that the microbes caused suppuration rather than merely appearing after tissue damage. He also found that heat and carbolic acid could kill them, linking the discovery to antiseptic surgery.

The finding initially met skepticism from parts of the medical establishment, but Ogston presented his work in Berlin and gained wider recognition. Later bacteriologists identified important species such as Staphylococcus aureus. The genus includes bacteria that can live harmlessly on skin as normal flora but can also cause wound infections, abscesses, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections when they enter vulnerable tissue.