Wards adhering to his system were celebrated by many for their “fresh, healthy atmosphere” and an “absence of any smell,” while The Lancet characterized his progress through the university towns of Germany, where his system was particularly popular, as a triumphal march. Still, one nation remained unconvinced of the merits of Lister’s methods: the United States. In fact, in several American hospitals, Lister’s techniques had been banned; many doctors saw them as unnecessary and overly complicated distractions because they had not yet accepted the germ theory of putrefaction. Even by the
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