The butchering art

A fairly interesting book on Joseph Lister and the rise of antiseptic use in hospitals during the 1800s. It describes just how ugly, painful and usually terminal "surgery" was during those days, often the result of "hospitalism", ie - infections like gangrene. Some pretty disturbing descriptions of illnesses and their "cures", interspersed with descriptions of the Quaker Joseph Lister, who was determined to figure out the cause of the infections, before even the idea of "germs" was known.

Using the work of Louis Pasteur, Lister gradually refined a process using carbolic acid to sterilize things, much to the chagrin of long time practitioners, who called it "voodoo" and completely unnecessary. Others did more work on it, including the manufacture of "Listerine"! It's not clear in the if he ever actually figured out what was causing the infections, just that carbolic acid (and sterilization in general) could avoid it. And while there is a little discussion of "germs", there is no history of their discovery. Almost to the end, Lister thought it was airborne, and even had a weird contraption to spritz the air with carbolic acid.

But he sure stood up and took the slings and arrows, knowing he was right about infection and sterilization, eventually winning over even hardened foes in America.

He sounds like a real good man with true compassion for his patients. For instance:

"... Guthrie related a touching story later in life about a little girl who came into the hospital suffering from an abscess of the knee. After Lister treated and dressed her wound, the girl held up her doll to him. He gently took the toy from her and noticed that it was missing its tiny leg. The girl fumbled around under pillow and - much to Lister's amusement - produced the severed limb. He shook his ominously as he inspected his newest patient. Lister turn to Guthrie and asked for a needle and cotton. Carefully, he stitched the limb back onto the doll and with quiet delight handed it back to the little girl. Guthrie said that her "large brown eyes spoke endless gratitude, but neither uttered a word." Surgeon and child seemed to understand each other perfectly."

Like I said, pretty solid book, an easy read. I think it could have used more discussion of the "germ theory". Maybe her next book?

A very nice quotation-rich biography of Joseph Lister. I especially enjoyed the discussion of all of his opponents and their various comments. They remind me of the definition of an expert - the person most surprised by news to the contrary. There are many other entertaining and enlightening items e.g. that Lister had an "unreasoned dread of wet feet", the term phagedenic ulcer, Friederich Engels' comment about the poverty in Glasgow, Lister's lecturing technique, the origin of Listerine, Lister and Robert Wood Johnson, etc.
I was hoping to see some mention of the fact that Lister worked in his filthy street clothes and without gloves (first used by Halstead), even while spraying carbolic acid in the air, and some mention of Lister and Robert Koch.
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Some relatively trivial complaints:
One may look or even gaze into a microscope, but one does not "squint" into one. The author says on page 168, that mycobacterial psoas abscesses were prone to infection, but they are, of course, already infected, and I think she means, superinfection. When Lister looked at slide preparations of bone tumors, he was examining their histology - to say he was examining their cell structure is slightly misleading, especially considering the stains that he had available to him. Also, I understand that books need to be sold, but the title of this one seems unnecessarily tawdry.

I was excited to get by hardback copy last month. I follow Dr. Fitzharris all over the place -- her YouTube channel, Instagram feed, and Twitter. I find her medical history posts fascinating, smart, funny, and top quality. When she announced the book, I pre-ordered my copy right away and then endured months of waiting.

Part of the appeal of Dr. F's contributions on social media is the imagery. Pictures tell a thousand words. She posts pictures of antique medical instruments and paintings and photos of patients and procedures. It is brutal stuff. Sometimes, there is gore, but much more often she leaves it to your imagination to wonder what it would be like to be treated with THAT thing.

There are no pictures in the book. However, Dr. F's talent for crafting vivid descriptions of scenes, people, and actions carries the day. Her prose is tight but descriptive. Quickly, I got immersed in the filthy operating theaters and grimy streets of Victorian Scotland and England. As I read, I was often reminded of the scenes of the doctor's surgery from the Master and Commander movie with its filth, blood, and buckets and sawdust on the floor to collect the volumes of blood and amputated parts.

But this is not a book that sells itself on gore, though there are several passages that made me cringe. This is a smart, tight biography as well as a scientific thriller where the action surges and falters in step with Lister's successes and setbacks.

I'm very happy with the book, and I look forward to Dr. F's next.