Overview

The development of antiseptic and aseptic techniques had a dramatic impact on the health and life of those living in the late-nineteenth century. Essentially, these techniques combat the growth and transmission of harmful organisms. Antisepsis, meaning the topical destruction of bacteria, was developed as an offshoot of French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur's germ theory. Asepsis, meaning the absence of harmful organisms, was a later refinement of antisepsis and led to the development of modern surgery. Both techniques vastly reduced infection rates and, therefore, increased survivability from trauma or disease. Antisepsis and asepsis influenced industry and accompanied cultural changes during the latter Victorian period and into the Industrial Revolution.

Background

English surgeon Joseph Lister (1827-1912) pioneered modern antisepsis. Based on Pasteur's earlier studies of fermentation and putrefaction, Lister reasoned that tissue breakdown from infection was caused by minute organisms...