Lister's product was superior to Macewen's. Lister, however, had started bis experiments ,,'ith ligatures while Macewen was still a medical student and, to begin with at least, Macewen had simply followed bis master's lead. With bis continuing success with carbolic acid and the antiseptic method of wound healing, it must have seemed to Lister that, if he were to sterilize the material then in u...