A handbook on surgery : intended for dental and junior medical students / by Arthur S. Underwood and Bayford Underwood.

  • Underwood, Arthur S. (Arthur Swayne), 1854-1916.
Date:
[1912]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A handbook on surgery : intended for dental and junior medical students / by Arthur S. Underwood and Bayford Underwood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/260 (page 11)
    ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS. From the study of Bacteria and their action upon the human body, we proceed naturally to the consideration of the principles of asepsis and antisepsis, by which the whole system of modern surgical technique is governed. First, to define the meaning of the words, which will perhaps best be done by means of an example. Suppose we have a pair of dressing forceps. We boil them in water for fifteen minutes. All patho- genic micro-organic life which might have been present on these forceps before we began is now, as far as we can tell, effectually destroyed. The forceps are now said to be aseptic, that is, free from micro- organisms. But again, suppose we lay them down on a table, exposed to the air and dust, there is nothing to prevent other bacteria finding their way on to the forceps again. In order to meet this difficulty, we lay them down, not on a table but in a dish containing a i in 20 solution of carbolic acid, in which solution bacteria cannot live. The forceps are now both aseptic and antiseptic, that is, free from bacteria, and in such a position that no other bacteria can reach them alive. When a wound has been made in the skin or mucous membrane, either by accidental injury or by the surgeon's knife, the main factor in delaying or pre- venting healing is infection by micro-organisms, chiefly those known as pyogenic organisms (e.g., Strepto- coccus and Staphylococcus pyogenes). The object of the surgeon is, if possible, to prevent altogether the entrance of micro-organisms into the wound, or at least to limit the number to such an extent that the patient's natural defences are sufficient to cope with them. In the case of an operation wound, or a wound made with a sharp, clean instrument such as a razor, this task may be comparatively simple. In the case of an injury caused by a blunt, dirty instrument {c.g., a kick from a boot) it is of course impossible. Infection