Great Names in the History of Orthopaedics XIV: Joseph Lister (1827–1912) Part 1

Although the evolution of surgical practices cannot be the efforts of a single individual, Joseph almost single-handedly revolutionised modern surgery. Undoubtedly one of the greatest surgical benefactors of mankind, Joseph Lister was as great a scientist as he was a surgeon. His earliest research after graduation was on the muscles of the iris and coagulation of blood. He was one of the pioneers in bacteriology and the first to isolate bacteria in pure culture. While Professor of Surgery at Glasgow, he appreciated the significance of the antiseptic properties of certain phenolic compounds and applied them in clinical surgery. Although he was not the first person to apply antisepsis in surgery, he was the one who established the principles of antiseptic and later aseptic surgery and convinced the medical profession of his principles. In the world of science, credit goes to the person who developed and propagated the discovery, it first. Indeed, surgery is divided into its pre- and post-Listerian eras.

中文摘要: 約瑟夫. 李斯特 (第一輯)李斯特在外科手術消毒法的貢獻，令他被譽為外科手術的象徵。他父親發明了複式顯微鏡，這對年青時代的李斯特有著極大的影響，憑著強力的顯微鏡，打開了微生物學的世界。當他還在倫敦大學就讀時，巳研究動物組織學。卒業後便發表了數篇有關方面的文章。其後他因一次偶然機遇，去了愛丁堡大學賽姆教授門下作交換生，因而造就了兩人以後長期的伙伴關係，賽姆的女兒更嫁給了李斯特。而賽姆退休後，李斯特便順理成章繼承外科教授一職。李斯特用石炭酸來進行手術消毒，這種用防腐劑來抑制腐爛的方法巳有人在十九世紀廣泛用於污水消毒和處理。在 1867 年 3 月 16 日出版的<<柳葉刀>>雜誌，李斯特開始發表自己的外科手術消毒法報告。他在蘇格蘭格拉斯哥及愛丁堡的那些年頭，在許多方面都是他一生中成果最豐的時期，其後他回到倫敦後得到了不少的榮譽，他更被升為英國上議院議員(他是第一位獲此殊榮的醫生)。在此時外科手術消毒法巳被稱為“李斯特消毒法”。