Asepsis means without contamination, from the roots a = without and sepein = putrid.

Aseptic techniques are essential in biotechnology and biomedical laboratories and in the clinical environment. Aseptic techniques were first introduced into medicine in the middle of the 19th century. Ignaz Semmelweis and Oliver Wendel Holmes (1840s) had clinical evidence that the rate of infections decreased when physicans washed their hands in a disinfectant. And, Joseph Lister (1860s) introduced the use of sterile bandages and disinfecting instruments in surgery.

Read a little about Lister and Semmelweis.

Photo: By the 1880s, anesthesia and asepsis had made extensive surgery possible. Bellevue Hospital, New York City.