- Rhys Clement, specialist trainee year 4 in trauma and
orthopaedics - 1Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16
4SA, UK - Correspondence to: R G E Clement Hippocrates advised
that doctors should “be clean in person, well dressed, and
anointed with sweet smelling unguents.”1 Although this remains
sound advice, the concept of acceptable attire for doctors is
constantly evolving. Two hundred years ago doctors wore formal
attire for all clinical activity, including surgery, because
they had no idea that their clothing could transmit infection.
The demonstration of micro-organisms by Pasteur revolutionised
the way people thought about infection and paved the way for
Lister’s concept of antisepsis that has shaped our modern
approach towards infection control. However, Lister did not
recognise clothing as a source of infection and continued to
operate in formal attire. MacEwan, a student under Lister who
became professor of surgery in Glasgow, is credited with
introducing the sterile surgical gown. White coats