\[\begin{array}{}
{1} & \;\;\text{Long ago, having even minor surgery was extremely} \\
{2} & \;\;\text{dangerous. Much more dangerous, in fact, than any major} \\
{3} &\;\; \text{surgery you can have today. Prior to the middle of the} \\
{4} & \;\;\text{nineteenth century, almost half of the patients who} \\
{5} &\;\; \text{underwent surgery died as a result. Many of these people} \\
{6} & \;\;\text{survived the actual procedure, but their wound would later} \\
{7} & \;\;\text{become infected and ultimately lead to their death.} \\
\end{array}\]
\[\begin{array}{}
{8} & \;\;\text{These frequent infections occurred because antiseptics did} \\
{9} & \;\;\text{not yet exist, and the medical professionals of the time had} \\
{10} & \;\;\text{no idea about infection control or disinfection. Many doctors} \\
{11} & \;\;\text{believed that the infections were caused by bad air getting} \\
{12} &\;\; \text{into the wound, and they would instruct the nurses to air-out} \\
{13} & \;\;\text{the hospital every day. Meanwhile, doctors would perform} \\
{14} & \;\;\text{surgery without washing their hands and while wearing a} \\
{15} &\;\; \text{coat soiled with another patient’s blood. Many of them} \\
{16} & \;\;\text{purposely wore dirty gowns and coats as a sign of their} \\
{17} & \;\;\text{experience! With conditions like these, it’s no wonder so} \\
{18} & \;\;\text{many patients succumbed to infection after their surgeries.} \\
\end{array}\]
\[\begin{array}{}
{19} & \;\;\text{In the 1860s, a surgeon by the name of Joseph Lister} \\
{20} & \;\;\text{permanently changed the medical world for the better.} \\
{21} & \;\;\text{Drawing from the work of Louis Pasteur, Lister realized that} \\
{22} & \;\;\text{infection could occur when microorganisms were present. In} \\
{23} &\;\; \text{order to prevent harmful, or fatal, infections, Lister began} \\
{24} &\;\; \text{sterilizing medical tools with a carbolic acid mixture. He also} \\
{25} &\;\; \text{instructed other surgeons to wash their hands, wear gloves,} \\
{26} &\;\; \text{and disinfect the patient’s skin prior to surgery. Lister realized} \\
{27} & \;\;\text{that the most effective way of preventing infection was to} \\
{28} & \text{eliminate microorganisms before they ever had a chance to} \\
{29} & \;\;\text{enter the patient’s body.} \\
\end{array}\]
\[\begin{array}{}
{30} &\;\; \text{After doctors began introducing these antiseptic methods} \\
{31} &\;\; \text{into their surgeries, the survival rate in patients undergoing} \\
{32} &\;\; \text{surgery dramatically rose. While the methods for disinfection} \\
{33} &\;\; \text{have changed, Joseph Lister is still considered to be the} \\
{34} & \;\;\text{father of modern surgery, and his discoveries saved} \\
{35} &\;\; \text{countless lives over the years.} \\
\end{array}\]