Who introduced antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid in the 1860s?

Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid in the 1860s. Working at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Lister applied ideas from Louis Pasteur’s germ theory to surgical wounds. He used carbolic acid, also called phenol, to clean wounds, instruments, dressings, and sometimes the operating area.

Lister reported that this approach sharply reduced infection and mortality after operations. His methods helped shift surgery from a procedure frequently followed by fatal infection toward a safer discipline. The practice was initially controversial, partly because many surgeons still believed infection resulted from poisonous air rather than microorganisms.

Antisepsis and asepsis are related but not identical. Antisepsis destroys or inhibits microorganisms on living tissue, whereas asepsis aims to prevent contamination in the first place through sterile instruments, gowns, gloves, and technique. Modern surgery uses both ideas, but it no longer generally relies on carbolic acid sprays. Lister’s work helped establish infection control as a central part of medical practice.