In 1865, Joseph Lister began using carbolic acid to prevent infection during surgery. His antiseptic methods dramatically reduced deaths from wound sepsis and helped establish modern sterile practice. Safer surgery later allowed more ambitious operations in which anticoagulants became essential for preventing dangerous clots.

Antiseptic surgery changed the cultural image of hospitals from places of likely death to places of possible recovery. This shift influenced realist and modernist writing about illness, convalescence and the social meaning of medical care, prompting poets to explore themes of healing and hope.