title: The role of Joseph Lister in developing the absorbable ligature.
abstract: Joseph Lister is associated with pioneering work on antisepsis. However an important but less well-known contribution to surgical progress was his work on the absorbable suture. This article details the problems Lister faced in operative surgery, his observations and experiments that lead to his development of an absorbable suture.
authors.affiliation: University of Aberdeen. matthall50@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants / Q000266:history; D000818:Animals; D002398:Catgut / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D008026:Ligation / Q000266:history