JOSEPH LISTER: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS AND DISCOVERIES - MEDICINE - 2025

Joseph Lister was a British scientist and surgeon. He managed to develop antiseptic surgery practices during the Victorian era in England thanks to his knowledge of the theory about the origin of putrefaction and fermentation of Louis Pasteur. He was also the one who led the use of the so-called catgut or absorbable suture in surgical wounds.

The antiseptic method that Lister developed substantially changed the practice of surgical interventions in the 19th century. At that time, operations were carried out under extremely precarious conditions, not only due to inadequate hygiene, but also due to the conception of a public show they had.

During the period in which Lister was practicing surgery, a scientific view of the practice of medicine was rare. This was so because, in general, surgeons were considered mere performers of amputations.

However, due in part to a systematic statistical investigation into the results of his interventions, Lister managed to convince his guild of another view. At the beginning they were quite reticent, especially their countrymen, but later they understood the benefits of using carbolic acid or phenol as a bactericidal substance.

He also convinced them of the need for prophylactic care both in the environment of the affected person and in that of the intervening professionals. Likewise, he emphasized disinfecting the instruments used in incisive procedures and in particular care in disinfecting the patient's wound.

Biography

Joseph Liste was born on April 5, 1827, to a wealthy family in the Essex County community, Great Britain.

His father was Joseph Jackson Lister. He was a wine salesman who knew mathematics and physics. He was also interested in optics to the point of having been a forerunner in the manufacture of achromatic lenses for microscopes. Likewise, he dedicated himself to research using this tool of science.

Joseph Lister's schooling took place in different London religious institutions. These schools placed a special emphasis on the study of science.

Once this formative stage was completed, he entered the University of London, where he graduated in Arts and Botany. Later he went on to study medicine in the same university campus; He graduated cum laude in 1852. He was immediately accepted into the Royal College of Surgeons, where he completed his training in 1854.

Work and sentimental development

After graduation, he began to hold the position of assistant with the renowned professor of surgery James Syme. Later, Syme became her father-in-law, after the marriage between one of her daughters and the promising professional.

This marital bond was very favorable to Lister in several ways. Agnes -as her consort was called-, in addition to having a particular inclination for the subject of science, could speak and read in French.

This ability of his wife helped him to know, before they were translated into English, the investigations carried out by the Frenchman Louis Pasteur on germs.

For a long time this famous Briton worked tirelessly investigating various aspects such as blood clotting. He also studied the consequences of wound infections on blood vessels.

On the other hand, he observed the favorable results of cauterization in patients with open wounds; little by little she came to certain conclusions.

These conclusions were giving him greater certainty about the importance of applying the appropriate chemical solution. This would disinfect both the incision made in the patient, no matter how small, and the environment that surrounds it.

Promotion of discovery

Starting in 1867, Lister made the results of his research known through conferences in various nations. He even did operations abroad, especially in the United States.

All this activity made him more and more popular. This allowed his system to be approved, to the extent that these practices were implemented in numerous nations.

In 1877 he had the opportunity to enter the academic field thanks to the fact that he was appointed professor at King's College. By the 1880s, acceptance of his discoveries was almost unanimous. Even in Germany he was considered a hero.

In 1892, while they were visiting Italy, his wife Agnes died. This made the famous surgeon accentuate a feature that had always been part of his personality: depression.

Last years

Lister became so seriously ill that he suffered a vascular accident that forced him to permanently withdraw from medical practice, for which he focused even more on his investigations.

On February 10, 1912, at age 84, Lister died in Walmer, Great Britain. He was lavishly honored. Among the honors he received in life was that of being named a Baron by Queen Victoria; she had been operated on in minor surgery.

Lister's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, where his name and effigy were recorded for posterity.

Discoveries

Joseph Lister was aware of Pasteur's proposals that, on the one hand, gangrenes occurred due to the presence of germs. On the other, he knew that the wound could remain unaltered if it remained free from contact with the air or if it managed to keep itself purified.

Thus, he established a parallel between the approaches that Pasteur developed in the area of ​​microbiology and the field of surgery, particularly in relation to the issue of open fractures.

Lister noted that minor fractures, those with no break in the skin, healed without much difficulty. Instead, open fractures regularly ended up oozing or becoming infected.

Thus, he concluded that the atmosphere was the cause of the germs getting into the wound; consequently, it had to be debugged. For this, she first tried zinc chloride, and then determined that the use of carbolic acid was better.

This substance was used in England for other purposes since 1859, with the purpose of avoiding putrefaction in regions where the stench of animal excrement made the air unbreathable.

Convincing the guild

From the moment that Lister made the aforementioned deduction, he began the process of disseminating his observations through a series of articles. These did not manage to have much resonance among his fellow workers, who judged antisepsis as a useless process.

However, he persisted in this work. Through new publications, he made the results of another work on the same subject to be seen by the Association of Doctors of Great Britain.

In 1867 he published a book that achieved medium approval among his colleagues, and a little later he transmitted these same conclusions to the Glasgow Medical-Surgical Society.

In 1869 he spoke about this exploration in the inaugural lesson of a subject at the university where he worked. That is how he did not cease in the task of divulging the conclusions to which he was arriving.

Technique improvement

Without forgetting the work to disseminate his findings, he gradually perfected the antiseptic technique. At first he used applications of dressings moistened with carbolic water; then he sprayed both the environment and the instruments.

Simultaneously, he was gathering statistics from a significant number of cases; this was allowed by his constant practice. The practices revealed to him that the mortality rate in surgical patients due to infections was falling considerably: from almost 50% of those operated to 15%.

This is how this extraordinary surgeon began to have some followers, until in 1871 Lister managed to make these practices become a regular protocol in operating rooms both in Europe and in the United States.

Contributions

Joseph Lister, creator of preventive and antiseptic medicine, revolutionized surgical practice. He made this a much safer specialty.

On the other hand, he raised the surgical practice -even without intending it- to the just scenario of rigor and demand that corresponds to it as a discipline of enormous responsibility.

He managed to make such turns at a time when people were reluctant to leave harmful practices for patients, due to an atmosphere full of unhealthy beliefs and customs surrounding the office of the surgeon.

This job was considered even less important than that of a mattress lice cleaner, and this was notable in the fact that the pay for such an occupation was very low.

In sum, Lister set a historical precedent for his occupation by showing that antisepsis was essential when treating patients requiring surgery. In this way, the deplorable unsanitary conditions changed and what today is called in modern medicine or allopathy as asepsis was founded.

Interdisciplinary approach

Likewise, this brilliant scholar came to transcend disciplinary fields. He established connections between diverse subjects and demonstrated that interdisciplinary work is beneficial for humanity and productive for science.

The chemicals used today to achieve asepsis in clinical settings have varied in view of how caustic and toxic phenol is. However, it was thanks to Lister's finding that a line was drawn between old-fashioned and new-minded surgery.

References

1. García Maldonado, Antonio. From Matasanos to Surgeons: We owe Joseph Lister millions of lives. Recovered at: elasombrario.com
2. Villanueva-Meyer, Marco. Galenus. Magazine for doctors of Puerto Rico. Vol. 43. Year 6. No. 7. Recovered at: galenusrevista.com
3. Sánchez Silva, José Ayoze. Joseph Lister. Recovered in: zonates.com
4. S / D. Joseph Lister (1827-1912). Recovered in: historiadelamedicina.org
5. Yanes. Joseph, Javier. Lister, the man who sterilized the surgery. Recovered at: bbvaopenmind.com
6. Fitzharris, Lindsey. From matasanos to surgeons or how Lister saved us from dying after operations. Madrid: Debate, 2018. Recovered at: megustaleer.com