Learning surgery in Paris.

did roll up his sleeves.'I By 1890 surgeons and assistants had progressed to freshly laundered gowns (fig 3), Lister had abandoned the spray, and aseptic techniques were being developed. When the new surgical block of the infirmary opened in 1892 the theatre contained a scrub up sink and instrument boiler, but it was still an amphitheatre and surgical lists could not start until the daily lecture to students had been delivered. In that year 12 laparotomies were performed; by 1909, as Ogston retired, 12 abdominal operations were performed each week, the theatres were already outdated, and a new stack of theatres was being planned, suited to aseptic techniques. Between the retirement of Keith and of Ogston surgery had been transformed. Ogston was one of a remarkable group of surgeons on both sides of the Atlantic who recognised that Lister's legacy enabled them to exploit the technical skills of their forebears in new fields. Ogston himself had also made a unique. contribution to the scientific foundations of surgical practice.