Lister and antiseptics

• He used carbolic acid to prevent infection
• Lister used carbolic acid on the open fracture of james greenlees in 1865 and he made a full recovery
• Lister used dressings soaked in carbolic acid to set bones
• Infection rates dropped from 50% to 15% in just four years after carbolic acid was used widely
• Publicised germ theory by explaining the antiseptic technique