In 1902 Photography Of The Operation Theatre At Jefferson Medical College.
A very interesting story that resulted in an important medical practice of using "face Masks" in the operation theatre. This is a photography of an operation theatre, of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia has taken in 1902. It shows a scene where a patient is on the operation table, and surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses are standing near him. Few spectators are sitting in the amphitheatre behind the operation table.
The most striking feature of this photo is that nobody in the OT was wearing a mask. None of the surgeon and his assistants was using the gloves. A medical student sitting in the amphitheatre as a spectator observed a curious thing. He observed that when the light was from a certain direction, he could see from his seat.
A continual spray of saliva imminent from the mouth of the surgeon while he has taken to the class and conducted his operation. This medical student told this observation to his teacher, Dr Alice Hamiton. Dr Alice Hamiton, a teacher in the institute conducted research on this.
She kept a culture plate on a table while the surgeon was sham-operated and spoke up to 500 words, an average of 75 bacterial colonies wee identified that contained Streptococci, Diplococci, Staphylococci, and other bacteria and half of them were harmful.
She also observed that taking released droplets up to 24 cms while with coughing it was 36 cms. Whispering produced more droplets than talking. She concluded that this spray of saliva through the mouth of the surgeon can cause harmful wound infection to the patient getting the operation.