Joseph Lister is often seen as a hero of surgery, but his famous method of antisepsis was not solely his work alone. The commonly told account of the development of antisepsis displays several characteristics of whig history. This investigation will highlight these whiggish features, showing that Lister's original antiseptic technique was not without its failures and that there were other important figures who contributed to its development.
Blood and guts: a history of surgery2008 [VHS video] BBC Four
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