[Historical notes on the management of infection during the development of surgery].

Abstract

Surgery and medicine have not evolved in parallel. There have been discrepancies, bellicosity, contempt and even separate university studies during a long time. The Saint Cosme Brotherhood, founded to supervise the professional practice of barbers (short robe surgeon-barbers) in France in 1260, was opposed by the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. The conflicting interests of the university, Brotherhood and Barbers, that persisted until the 18 th century, impaired the progress of surgery. In the first half of the 19 th century, the advance of surgery continued facing pain, hemorrhage and infection. The control of the latter had to consider antisepsis, asepsis and finally the appearance of antimicrobial substances, sulfonamides and antibiotics that allowed surgeons to approach and solve major problems of the specialty.