On the sterilisation of the hands : a bacteriological inquiry into the relative value of various agents used in the disinfection of the hands / by Charles Leedham-Green.

  • Leedham-Green, Charles.
Date:
1904
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the sterilisation of the hands : a bacteriological inquiry into the relative value of various agents used in the disinfection of the hands / by Charles Leedham-Green. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ON THE STERILISATION OF THE HANDS. INTRODUCTION. The following series of experiments grew out of an endeavour to determine, for personal guidance, the relative value of certain methods advocated for rendering a sur- geon’s hands sterile. There was at the time no thought of writing a formal treatise; but^ as one investigation led to another, and as interesting and difficult problems pre- sented themselves for solution, I was tempted to publish an account of my work as a slight contribution to the mass of literature that had already appeared on this subject. In 1896 I wrote an account of a series of experiments on the sterilisation of the hands by means of alcohol (Deutsch. Med. Wock.y 1896), and a little later in the same year of a further series to determine the merit of various other agents used in cleansing the skin {Brii. Med. Journal, October, 1896). As this subject has, of late years, been discussed almost solely in German papers, English writers having strangely ignored it (see bibliography at the end of this paper), I have ventured to describe its gradual develop- ment in some detail. During the past decade con- siderable attention has been given to the question of sterilising the skin, with the result that certain facts have been definitely established which require no further confirmation. At the same time, it would be a mistake to assume, as has been done, that the whole matter has been settled. There are yet numerous important problems which await solution, and a keen strife still rages over the subject.
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