title: Is the commonly told story of Lister's antisepsis a whiggish one?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University College London Institute of Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Research, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 4LP.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: Wasim S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents