listerella

Lis·ter \ˈlis-tər\ , Joseph (1827–1912), British surgeon and medical scientist. One of the greatest surgeons in medical history, Lister successfully introduced antisepsis into the operating room and as a result revolutionized modern surgery. Building on Louis Pasteur's studies of bacteria, he studied sepsis and suppuration and the use of chemicals to prevent surgical infection. In 1865 he began using carbolic acid as an antiseptic. In 1877, in an operation involving a compound fracture, he conclusively demonstrated that his practice of antisepsis greatly reduced the rate of mortality due to surgery. Although his work was highly controversial originally, by the time of his death the principle of antisepsis was universally accepted.