The idea of clean operating rooms did not
exist until Joseph Lister began his practice of antisepsis in the
1860's. He introduced washing surgical instruments in carbolic
acid, and keeping the operating area clean and sterile. He used it
on the incision wound, dressings, and instruments. It was a
revolutionary change for hospitals. Lister discovered that the
infections in wounds which caused so many surgical deaths were not
caused by the miasma in the air, but by something entirely
different.
In his article in The Lancet of 21 September 1867 and his book
'Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery' he explained the
cause was microorganisms that traveled from the surgeon’s hands
onto the wound. Because of his miraculous results in operative and
post-operative infection, Lister is considered to be one of the
founders of modern surgery.
In 1893 Dr. J.C. Bloodgood (his real name) insisted on surgical
glove use by his entire surgical team. This was followed by W.
Steward Halstead's adoption of surgical gloves at Johns Hopkins
that gained national exposure. Halstead is generally credited with
the glove's discovery, which is not true.
Listerine was formulated by Dr. Joseph Lawrence and Jordan
Wheat Lambert in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1879. Joseph Lister had
nothing to do with it, other than it was named after him.