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Nurses have been wearing medical uniforms for
hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until well into the 20th century that
surgeons began to wear a specialized garment. In fact,
surgical procedures once took place inside an “operating
theater,” which was generally an amphitheatre or another
auditorium style room. Here, spectators or students
watched as the surgeon performed the procedure in just his
street clothes! Sometimes, the surgeon wore a
butcher’s apron in order to protect his clothing from
becoming stained with blood. But, no gloves or
sterilized instruments were used. To make it worse,
silk sutures were sold as open strands and were sewn in with
reusable needles. Even packing gauze was made from the
leftover sweepings found on the floors of cotton mills! |
A Change of Thinking
Medical experts and surgeons started to
rethink their practices in 1918 with the Spanish flu
pandemic. At this time, they started to become more
interested in Lister’s antiseptic theory, which was actually
published in 1867. His theory was largely influenced
by Louie Pasteur’s work, which found that microorganisms
could cause fermentation and rotting to take place, even
without the presence of oxygen. Lister took this work
a step further and proposed sterilizing surgical equipment
with antiseptic concoctions.
As a result of this gained
understanding, some surgeons began to wear cotton gauze
masks in order to protect themselves from diseases patients
may carry. The operating theater staff also began to
wear heavy rubber gloves in order to protect their hands
from the solutions they used to clean the room and the
equipment to make it more sterile.
In the 1940’s, antiseptic drapes and
medical uniforms began to be used in operating rooms.
In addition, all supplies, instruments, and dressings were
sterilized. The medical uniforms used in the operating
room at this time were white, which was meant to emphasize
cleanliness. The white medical uniforms, coupled with
the bright lights and white walls of the operating room, led
to eyestrain for both the surgeon and the staff. In
addition, many felt the red blood stains on white drapes and
medical uniforms to be off-putting.
As a result, many hospitals started to issue apparel
to the operating room team in shades of green in the 1950’s
and 1960’s. These colors contrasted with the environment
and helped reduce eye fatigue. By the 1970’s, medical
uniforms as we know them began to appear. These new medical
uniforms consisted of a cotton short-sleeved shirt and pants
or the “surgical greens,” which consisted of a one-piece
calf-length dress. Both types of medical Uniforms utilize a
gauze or paper mask, latex gloves, and closed-toe shoes. |
