The First Surgeons – Part 2: Surgical Sterilization: Boiling Tools and Herbal Vapors in Antiquity
The First Surgeons: Cutting-Edge Medicine Before Anesthesia 1 The First Surgeons – Part 1: Sushruta Samhita: The Cradle of Plastic Surgery 2 The First Surgeons – Part 2: Surgical Sterilization: Boiling Tools and Herbal Vapors in Antiquity 3 The First Surgeons – Part 3: Herbal Medicine & Early Pharmacology: The Systematic Science of 700 Plants 4 The First Surgeons – Part 4: Operating on the Living Skull: Bone Setting and Trepanation in the Ancient World ← Series Home The Invisible Threat: Battling Infection Before Germ Theory Centuries before the work of Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister formalized the role of microorganisms in disease, ancient medical systems understood empirically that surgical procedures demanded rigorous cleanliness. This intuitive grasp of hygiene led both Roman physicians and Indian surgeons to codify practices aimed at preventing infection, effectively anticipating the principles of sterilization by more than a thousand years. The imperative to reduce contamination was so critical that specialized surgical tools—such as the fine bronze and iron scalpels used by Romans, and the 125 distinct instruments of the Sushruta tradition—were subject to strict cleaning mandates. ...