Research report

The Victorian Era was not only founded problems but also helped create medical breakthroughs that will last forever or be improved upon. Joseph Lister, a very well known surgeon of the time, had revolutionized sanitation of wounds post surgery. “Not until Joseph Lister demonstrated in the 1860s that hospital infections could be prevented by the lavish use of carbolic acid as an antiseptic and hospitals became gradually safer.” (Health, Medicine, and Society in Victorian England p. 25-26) Lister wanted a safer more sterile environment to do surgery and for his patients to recover in after the procedures. So, unlike doctors of his time, he used carbolic acid as an antiseptic on wounds. Dr. Lister first experimented with carbolic acid as an antiseptic but would eventually work with other things like chloride of zinc on some wounds. “After reading Pasteur’s work, published in 1861, Lister had devolved the process of antisepsis. He began with carbolic acid as antiseptic agent, but went on to test other agents as well.” (Health, Medicine, and Society in Victorian England p. 30) He became very famous for his process antisepsis, which is still partly used in modern medicine. Carbolic acid though was Lister’s favorite or most used antiseptic on wounds. Dr. Joseph Lister again used carbolic acid even more after Pasteur published another study. “Also in the 1860s, surgeon Joseph Lister applied Pasteur’s theory to the problem of wound infections, using the disinfectant carbolic acid to kill germs and prevent wound infection.” (Health, Medicine, and Society in Victorian England p. 65) He thought the use of this specific substance would give his patients not only the best results but also the prevented the terrifying “hospital gangrene.” Many p...

... middle of paper ...

..., Dr. John Snow, a very famous anesthesiologist, was well known for his administration of ether and chloroform, which he strongly favored over any other anesthetic. Wilhelm Roentgen made an absolutely amazing medical discovery in 1895 that would change medicine significantly. “X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen (1845-1923) who was a professor at Wuerzburg University in Germany.” (NDE/NDT Resource Center) The x-ray machine is so uniquely irreplaceable that if Wilhelm had not discovered the x-ray, medicine would be totally changed even though another person probably would just discover it later. Although, the x-ray helped doctors diagnose people correctly and learn more about the body to help improve medicine. The whole entire nineteenth century was known for it’s worst problems but it also created a brand new perspective of public health and medicine.