He found an effective antiseptic in carbolic acid, which had already been used as a means of cleansing foul-smelling sewers and had been empirically advised as a wound dressing in 1863. Lister first successfully used his new method on August 12, 1865; in March 1867 he published a series of cases.

Joseph Lister, ‘Illustrations of the Antiseptic System’, Lancet ii, 667–668 (1867). Joseph Lister, ‘An Address on the Antiseptic System of Treatment in Surgery, Delivered before the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Glasgow’, Br. Med.

When surgeon Joseph Lister died at the age of 84 on February 10, 1912, he left behind a drastic reduction in the mortality of surgical patients due to infections.

By the 1890s, wider acceptance of germ theory resulted in the emergence of the science of bacteriology, and new research revealed that antiseptics were not the only way to control infection.

The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or “germs” can lead to disease. Diseases caused by pathogens are called infectious diseases.

Scientific Approaches. The advent of the germ theory of disease, anticipated by Ignaz Semmelweis (1818–65) and consolidated by Louis Pasteur (1822–95), strongly influenced medical opinion toward an antibacterial stance.

The four basic principles of Germ Theory The air contains living microorganisms. Microbes can be killed by heating them. Microbes in the air cause decay. Microbes are not evenly distributed in the air.

Actually, germs are tiny organisms, or living things, that can cause disease. Germs are so small and sneaky that they creep into our bodies without being noticed.

Although the germ theory has long been considered proved, its full implications for medical practice were not immediately apparent; bloodstained frock coats were considered suitable operating-room attire even in the late 1870s, and surgeons operated without masks or head coverings as late as the 1890s.

The French Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) and German Robert Koch (1843–1910) are the two greatest figures in medical microbiology and in establishing acceptance of the germ theory of disease (germ theory).

German physician Robert Koch was one of the founders of bacteriology. He discovered the anthrax disease cycle and the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and cholera. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1905 for his research on tuberculosis.

A few months after the London meeting, in the first volume of the “Mit- teilungen aus dem Kaiserlichen Gesundheit- samte,” Koch and his students Gaffky and Loef- fler published several articles attacking Pasteur’s work on attenuating anthrax, accusing him of having impure cultures and of making errors during his …

In August 1890, Robert Koch dramatically announced that he had discovered a cure for tuberculosis, and the world rejoiced. The miracle substance was subsequently revealed to be tuberculin, inoculated as a ‘vaccine therapy’.

As originally stated, the four criteria are: (1) The microorganism must be found in diseased but not healthy individuals; (2) The microorganism must be cultured from the diseased individual; (3) Inoculation of a healthy individual with the cultured microorganism must recapitulated the disease; and finally (4) The …

Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. In 1861, Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases. Koch’s research led to a study of disease prevention and the treatment of disease by vaccines and immune serums, a branch of medicine now called immunology.

What is the proper way to pronounce Koch? – Heckler & Koch. The English pronunciation is pronounced, “coke.”

The ch in Koch is like ch in Bach, or the Spanish pronunciation of x in Mexico or Xavier, or the j in Alejandra, or like the Yiddish pronunciation of ch in chutzpah.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German koch, German Koch ‘cook’ (cognate with Latin coquus). The name in this sense is widespread throughout eastern and central Europe, and is also well established in Denmark.