Joseph Lister Facts & Worksheets

In the first half of the nineteenth century, surgery was performed without anesthesia and sterilization. Post-surgery infection kills roughly 25% of patients until Joseph Lister’s discovery of the antisepsis system.

See the fact file below for more information on Joseph Lister, or you can download our 22-page Joseph Lister worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

• Joseph Lister was a surgeon and scientist born on April 5, 1827, in Upton, Essex, England. He was the fourth child of Joseph Jackson Lister and Isabella Harris, who were devout Quakers. 
• His father was a wine merchant who also had his own scientific interests. He invented the first achromatic microscope lens. This contribution earned him the honor of being a Fellow of the Royal Society.
• With his parents’ active participation in his education, he was sent to private Quaker schools. He attended Benjamin Abbott’s Isaac Brown Academy in Hitchin then Grove House School in Tottenham. 
• With his father’s influence, Joseph Lister developed an interest in natural history and a determination to become a surgeon. With his father’s help, he was able to prepare for a life of scientific research.
• Despite his formal and informal education, Lister could not attend the University of Oxford or University of Cambridge as the religious tests hindered him from enrolling. He decided to study at the University College London Medical School, one of the few institutions that accepted Quakers. 
• Joseph Lister earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1847, then enrolled in the faculty of medical science in October of 1848. 
• As a requirement for his degree, Lister had to go through two years of clinical instruction. He became an intern and later house physician to Walter Hayle Walshe. 
• In his second year, Joseph Lister worked as a dresser and later as a house surgeon to John Eric Erichsen. While working him, Lister discovered an interest in the healing of wounds. He witnessed an epidemic of erysipelas in the male ward. Then, when he was put in charge of patients, he came into contact with different forms of blood-poisoning diseases.
• After completing his clinical instruction, Lister graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine with honors in 1852.

CAREER AND CONTRIBUTIONS

• After graduation, Joseph Lister was advised by William Sharpey to visit James Syme, a teacher of surgery who was regarded as the best surgeon in the United Kingdom. 
• In around 1853-1854, Lister went to the University of Edinburgh and studied under Syme. He first served as a dresser and then a surgeon to him. Both his personal and professional life flourished. While studying and working under James Syme, he met Agnes, Syme’s daughter, who later became his wife and research partner.
• Joseph Lister’s research was centered on inflammation and its impact on wounds and healing. He published papers about muscle activity in the skin and eyes, blood clotting, and blood vessel engorgement. He also presented his detailed observations about blood clotting to the Royal Society. His research work allowed him to become the Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Glasgow in 1859.

THE ANTISEPSIS SYSTEM

• The breakthrough in Joseph Lister’s career was his antisepsis system. Before this groundbreaking discovery, surgeons used to take pride in the stains on their surgical gowns. Surgeries were performed under unsanitary conditions and people believed that exposure to “bad air” was the cause of wound infections.
• When Lister gained experience as a surgeon, he studied the nature of infection in his home laboratory where he was assisted by his wife, Agnes.
• He then applied cleanliness techniques which included washing hands, changing the dressing, and even keeping the environment clean.
• At this time, people had no idea about germs and how they could cause infections, not until Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease.
• Lister started associating germs and microorganisms with infections after reading Pasteur’s work. According to the germ theory of disease, the spread of microorganisms in the body is the cause of infectious diseases. Although not tested during this time, Pasteur suggested that exposing the wound to germ-killing chemicals can kill the microorganisms and stop the spread of infection.
• Joseph Lister decided to apply the germ theory of disease to the problem of surgical infections. He searched for ways to form a chemical barrier between the surgical wound and the external environment. He called this chemical barrier an antiseptic.
• Carbolic acid or phenol was Lister’s chosen antiseptic. This substance kills germs upon contact. 
• Lister, through experimentations and trials, was able to develop his antiseptic technique. The procedure he developed was designed to prevent germs from coming into contact with an open wound.
• This procedure includes using weak carbolic acid as hand wash, bathing surgical instruments in carbolic acid, and using carbolic acid spray to reduce the number of germs in the air around the patient.
• Initially, Lister’s antiseptic technique received a mixed response. Many surgeons did not accept his technique because they thought it was unnecessary and complicated.
• They also believed Lister claimed that carbolic acid was a cure for infection instead of a way to prevent it.
• However, with the decrease in the number of surgery-related infections, his antiseptic technique became indisputable and eventually became widely accepted. 
• Due to his contribution to the advancement of surgery and to reducing post-surgical deaths due to infection, Lister and his work were celebrated in his lifetime. 
• He received various awards for his work: the Royal Medal in 1880; made a Baronet in 1883; a full peerage in 1897; president of the Royal Society in 1895 and 1900; the Copley Medal in 1902; the Albert Medal in 1984; and an appointment to the Privy Council. 

LATER LIFE, DEATH, AND LEGACY

• Joseph Lister retired from his profession in 1893, following Agnes’ death. Later, he suffered a stroke but was still able to provide consultations on King Edward VII’s appendicitis surgery.
• In 1909, Lister lost the ability to read and write. On February 10, 1912, nineteen years after his wife’s death, Joseph Lister died.
• His contributions to the field of surgery still benefit us today. 
• Lister’s antiseptic technique became the foundation for modern surgery where both antiseptic and aseptic techniques are used to prevent infections. Asepsis means a sterile environment where germs and any other microorganisms are not present.
• This is different from the antisepsis system which is used to kill germs present in the environment. 
• The Lister Medal, an award given to surgeons with great contributions to the field of surgery, was founded after Lister’s death. 
• A mouthwash, Listerine, was even named after Joseph Lister.

Joseph Lister Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Joseph Lister across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Joseph Lister, who discovered the antisepsis system in surgery.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Joseph Lister Fact File
2. Father of Modern Surgery
3. Life in a Grid
4. Concept Formation
5. Antisepsis vs. Asepsis
6. Think Like Lister
7. Scientific Aptitude
8. Skeptics
9. Pandemic With No Antiseptics
10. Cleaner and Healthier Tomorrow
11. To Sir Lister

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Joseph Lister?

Joseph Lister was an English physician and surgeon who invented antisepsis, a process of cleaning wounds with carbolic acid to prevent infection. Lister’s work led to a significant reduction in deaths from surgery and helped make it a safer and more routine procedure.

How did Joseph Lister discover antisepsis?

Lister’s antiseptic surgery was achieved by spraying medical instruments, catgut, and bandages with a 1-in-20 solution of carbolic acid. Many surgeons argued that Lister’s antiseptic procedures slowed down the procedure when speed was still critical owing to blood loss.

What contributions did Joseph Lister make to microbiology?

Lister created a protocol to sterilize surgical instruments, the surgeon’s hands, dressings, and wounds with carbolic acid solutions. He even designed a sprayer to spread the substance into the air of the operating room; however, it wasn’t exactly pleasurable.

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