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Task 1: Surgery Before 1840 Operations in the nineteenth century resulted in such high death rates due to many reasons. Firstly, doctors and scientists were unaware of germs, and had no understanding of hygiene. They did not know that germs caused illnesses and disease. People believed illnesses were spontaneous and that the body produced its own poisons. Doctors did not wash their hands after or prior to operations, so germs were spread from patient to patient. The instruments used in operations in the nineteenth century were very basic. Doctors used mostly a selection of knives and saws to carry out their procedures. These tools would not be washed at all before or after operations, and so they could carry infections from one patient to another. During amputations, patients had no anaesthetic and so were in absolute agony whilst they took place. Doctors would rely on the patient passing out from shock...

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