History - Surgery Through Time (Anti-Septic)

Infection

• Infection was a huge problem in the 19th Century
• Surgeons wore old, bloodstained clothes
• Surgeons might wash their hands before surgery, but nothing was germ-free

The Black Period of Surgery

(1850's-1870's) The Black Period of Surgery was when surgeons made more complex operations because of the discovery of anesthetics. However, the still did not know how to tackle infection. Therefore, the death rate rose due to death caused by infection.

Semmelweiss

Ignaz Semmelweiss…