Challenge #23 ..... in the late nineteenth century, antiseptic conditions during surgery were produced using carbolic acid (phenol) dressings over the incision and area of the operation. Who introduced this approach ? Answer: Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister of Lyme Regis (1827-1912). Joseph Lister was a fine surgeon and is the acknowledged founder of antiseptic surgery. In the mid nineteenth century the prevailing belief concerning infections (sepsis) was that it was caused by the entry of air into a wound. Working at the time as a surgeon in Glasgow, Lister's attention was caught by Louis Pasteur's demonstration that putrefaction is caused by living micro-organisms. Lister experimented with various substances to destroy these organisms in the air and in a wound. In August 1865 he tested - with success - the use of carbolic acid (phenol) dressings in the treatment of a coumpound fracture. He published his findings in 1867 and started an antiseptic revolution! Correct answer received from: Ron, Matt Dent, Gwen, Janet, Joan Cranmer, Emma McCreary (youth),