There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com.

Thank you. It's August 12, 1865, at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in Scotland.

Rithing in pain on a filthy bed, 11-year-old James Greenleys clenches his jaw. He's just arrived at the hospital with a broken

leg. He fell in front of a passing wagon and has a compound fracture of the tibia. The bone is

exposed through torn flesh, leaving James in agony. The hospital around him reeks of sweat,

vomit, and rot. A surgeon passes by, heading to the operating theater, his hands and apron, covered in dried blood.

James turns his head away, fixing his gaze on the ceiling.

He's only just a boy, but he's smart enough to know that soon he'll be wheeled into that dreaded

operating theater where a surgeon will saw off his leg.

If he doesn't bleed out on the table during the amputation, recovery will be just as risky.

There's a 50-50 chance he'll die from infection.

But as James contemplates his grim fate, a new figure approaches.

Joseph Lister is a 38-year-old British surgeon.

Gentle and unassuming, Joseph kneels beside James

and suggests a radical plan to save not only his life, but his leg as well.

Joseph calmly tells the nurses that they'll set James' broken bone with splints.

The staff hesitates, convinced that attempting to save this mangled leg

will inevitably result in a deadly infection. But Joseph is unwavering. After setting the bone,

he says they'll wrap the wound in lint soaked in carbolic acid. Joseph believes this acid will

...